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GIFT  OF 

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A   HANDBOOK 


OF 


BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


A    HANDBOOK 


OF 


BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES; 


OR, 


REASONABLE   SOLUTIONS  OF  PERPLEXING 
THINGS  IN  SACKED  SCRIPTURE. 


EDITED    BY 

REV.   ROBERT  TUCK,  B.A.  (LoxD.), 


AUTHOR   OF 


'THE  MORE  EXCELLENT  WAY,'  'FIRST  THREE  KINGS  OF  ISRAEL,' 
'A<;E  OF  THE  GREAT  PATRIARCHS.' 


' ...  In  which  are  some  thing-*  hard  to  be  'inderstooJ.' 

.,  ;   '  ST.  PETER, 


NEW  YORK : 


THOMAS      WHIT  TAKER, 
2   AND   3,  BIBLE    HOUSE. 


PREFACE. 


IT  has  been  the  duty  and  privilege  of  the  Editor  of  this  '  Handbook  ' 
for  the  last  twenty  years  to  study  closely  those  portions  of  Holy 
Scripture  which  are  likely  to  be  used  as  lessons,  sermon-subjects,  or 
illustrations,  by  Sunday-school  teachers  and  ministers.  In  the  course 
of  study  note  has  been  taken  of  all  passages  which  seemed  to  present 
special  difficulties.  These  have  been  treated,  in  various  ways,  in 
Sunday-school  and  other  magazines,  and  in  books ;  but  it  has  been 
thought  advisable  to  deal  with  these  difficulties  in  a  more  systematic 
manner,  and  to  put  at  the  command  of  the  intelligent  reader — and 
especially  of  the  reader  who  has  not  ready  access  to  expensive  Biblical 
works — a  suggestive  and  reasonable  explanation  of  every  perplexity, 
or  at  least  of  every  class  of  perplexity. 

In  selecting  the  topics  for  treatment,  it  has  been  borne  in  mind 
that  all  readers  of  the  Sacred  Word  do  not  find  difficulties  in  the 
same  things.  Effort  has  been  made  to  adapt  the  selection  of  topics 
to  all  kinds  of  open  and  inquiring  minds ;  but  it  has  always  been 
assumed  that  the  inquirer  is  sincere  and  reverent,  anxious  to  find  a 
satisfactory  explanation,  and  not  sceptically  pleased  by  making 
difficulties  bigger  than  they  are,  and  by  refusing  to  recognise  the 
reasonableness  of  solutions  that  are  offered. 

The  treatment  of  subjects  is  in  no  case  elaborate  or  complete.  A 
suggestive  style  has  been  kept  throughout.  Explanations  are  offered 
for  careful  consideration  :  they  are  intended  to  start  thought,  and  not 
to  satisfy  it.  The  purpose  of  the  work  will  be  fully  accomplished  if 
the  reader  finds  a  more  acceptable  solution  of  any  difficulty  than  it 
provides.  The  work  will  be  misused  if  it  is  made  the  basis  of  heated 
and  sectarian  controversy.  It  has  been  prepared  for  the  quiet  and 
thoughtful  student,  and  makes  no  provision  of  weapons  for  the 
polemic. 

371546 


vi  PREFACE. 

Nothing  is  suggested  that  is  unfamiliar  to  advanced  students  of 
God's  Word.  But  there  has  been  much  gain  by  the  Bible  Revision, 
and  Bible  criticism,  of  recent  years,  which  ought  to  become  the 
common  knowledge  of  the  people.  This  '  Handbook '  may  aid  in 
making  the  advanced  knowledge  of  the  college  the  possession  even 
of  the  Sunday-school  class.  And  the  Sacred  Book  is  best  honoured 
by  the  fullest  and  best  knowledge  of  its  contents,  and  of  its  original 
associations. 

Footnotes  and  references  to  learned  authors  have  been  avoided. 
The  books  referred  to,  in  the  paragraphs,  are  for  the  most  part  such 
as  may  be  found  in  every  good  library ;  and  readers  who  desire  to 
study  any  subject  further  will  easily  discover  the  works  that  will  give 
them  efficient  help. 

Quotations  are  made  from  other  authors  with  a  threefold  object 
in  view :  (i)  To  support  the  explanation  that  is  suggested  by  due 
authorities.  (2)  To  suggest  other  explanations  than  that  which 
seems  most  acceptable  to  the  writer  of  the  paragraph.  And  (3)  to 
relieve  the  sense  of  freshness  and  strangeness  which  may  be  caused 
by  some  of  the  solutions  that  are  offered.  There  are  many  cases  in 
which  the  explanation  will  occasion  surprise,  and  even  resistance.  In 
such  cases  the  support  of  some  honoured  and  trusted  name  will 
ensure  that  the  suggestions  made  are,  at  least,  calmly  and  candidly 
considered. 

May  our  readers  find,  in  the  study  of  this  *  Handbook/  what  we 
have  found  in  the  preparation  of  it,  an  ever-enlarging  knowledge  of, 
and  an  ever-deepening  reverence  for,  that  Word  which,  *  inspired  of 
God,  is  also  profitable  for  teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
instruction  which  is  in  righteousness  :  that  the  man  of  God  may  be 
complete,  furnished  completely  unto  every  good  work.' 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION              ......  i 

INTRODUCTORY    NOTES :  .  .  .  .  ,11 

1.  ON    MORAL    DIFFICULTIES  .  .  .  .II 

2.  ON    EASTERN    CUSTOMS    AND    SENTIMENTS                 .                  .  l8o 

3.  ON    THE   MIRACULOUS    ELEMENT    IN    THE    BIBLE  .                  .  396 

4.  ON    THE    RELATIONS    OF    MIRACLE   TO    NATURE     .                  .  402 

5.  ON    DEFINITIONS    OF    MIRACLE      ....  403 

6.  ON    THE    VALUE   OF    MIRACLES   AS    EVIDENCE         .                  .  404 

7.  ON    THE     MIRACLES    OF    OUR     LORD    AND     HIS    APOSTLES 

CONSIDERED    AS    EVIDENCES    OF    CHRISTIANITY              .  505 

8.  ON     THE     MIRACLES      OF     OUR      LORD     CONSIDERED      AS 

ILLUSTRATIONS    OF    HIS    MISSION         .                  .                  .  508 

9.  ON     THE     MANIFESTATION     OF     MIRACULOUS    POWER    AT 

SPECIAL   TIMES             .                  .                  .                  .                  .  509 

SECTION  I. 

DIFFICULTIES  RELATING  TO  MORAL  SENTIMENTS. 
OLD   TESTAMENT  .  .  .  .  .  15 

NEW   TESTAMENT  .  .  .  .  .  -145 

SECTION  II. 

DIFFICULTIES    RELATING   TO   EASTERN    CUSTOMS    AND 
SENTIMENTS. 

OLD    TESTAMENT  ......    183 

NEW     TESTAMENT  .  .  .  .  .  -346 

SECTION  III. 
DIFFICULTIES  RELATING  TO  THE  MIRACULOUS. 

OLD  TESTAMENT        .       .       .       .       .       .407 

NEW  TESTAMENT       .       .       ,       .       .       .  511 


INTRODUCTION. 


I. 

THE  Roman  Emperor,  Diocletian,  found  it  impossible  to  uproot 
Christianity  unless  he  could  destroy  the  Christian  books.  His  ex- 
perience has  been  repeated  in  the  succeeding  generations,  and 
whenever  unusual  energy  has  been  shown  in  attacks  upon  the 
Christian  system,  the  stress  of  battle  has  gathered  round  the  great 
Christian  Book. 

This  age  is  regarded  as,  in  a  special  sense,  a  sceptical  age  ;  but  its 
peculiarity  seems  rather  to  be  that  the  distinction  between  those  who 
ittack,  and  those  who  defend,  the  Christian  Faith  is  confused,  and 
Christianity  is  now  too  often  wounded  in  the  house  of  its  friends. 
The  spirit  of  scepticism  is  spread  far  more  widely,  and  its  evil  influ- 
ence is  more  generally  felt,  than  many  of  us  have  yet  recognized. 
Questioning,  not  in  a  simple  and  intelligent  spirit  of  inquiry,  but  in  a 
self-confident  spirit  of  doubting,  is  now  too  often  treated  as  a  sign  of 
nental  vigour ;  and  instead  of  the  open  attacks  on  God's  Word,  on 
he  possibility  of  a  book-revelation,  and  on  the  nature  and  claims  of 
nspiration,  such  as  our  fathers  had  to  meet,  the  too-prevailing  fashion 
>f  our  times  is,  by  assumptions  of  superior  critical,  scientific,  and 
listorical  knowledge,  and  by  a  scarcely  veiled  satire,  to  show  up  the 
;o-called  untruthfulness  and  untrustworthiness  of  much  that  is  con- 
ained  in  God's  Word.  The  pitched  battle  of  former  times  is  ex- 
banged  for  a  very  trying  guerilla  warfare.  We  have  not  so  much  to 
lefend  the  Bible  as  a  whole  as  to  wrestle  for  possession  of  the  details 
)f  every  book,  and  well-nigh  every  chapter. 

i 


ii  INTR  OD  UCTION. 

The  air  is  full  of  objections  to  the  contents  of  our  Bible,  exaggera- 
tions of  the  difficulties  which  modern  readers  find  in  it,  and  mis- 
representations of  its  meanings  and  teachings.  These  things  are 
freely  heard  in  homes  and  society,  in  workshop,  warehouse,  and  mill, 
as  well  as  in  workmen's  clubs  and  debating  societies.  They  are 
circulated  in  the  literature  provided  for  the  working  classes  and  the 
young,  as  well  as  for  those  who  lay  claim  to  cultured  intelligence. 

Precisely  what  is  needed,  therefore,  in  our  times  is  a  fair,  clear,  and 
reasonable  reply  to  the  various  objections  made  against  the  teachings 
of  the  Bible,  and  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  those  difficulties  which 
a  thoughtful  reader  finds  in  it. 

For  the  great  majority  of  Bible-students  such  calm  and  reasonable 
explanations  will  prove  of  more  practical  value  than  any  kind  of 
dogmatic  assertions  or  arguments  that  defend  Holy  Scripture  for  the 
sake  of  particular  creeds,  and  lead  into  the  heated  spheres  of  religious 
controversy.  The  removal  of  felt  difficulties  by  the  application  ot 
modern  knowledge  of  Eastern  customs  and  sentiments,  by  using 
wisely  the  results  of  recent  travels  and  researches  in  Bible  lands,  by 
treating  the  Bible  as  a  book  composed  under  human  conditions, 
though  with  an  all-controlling  Divine  inspiration,  and  by  bringing 
good  common-sense  and  '  sweet  reasonableness '  to  bear  upon  the 
actions  of  men  who  were  placed  in  difficult  circumstances,  and  lived 
in  ancient  times,  will  materially  aid  in  restoring  and  establishing  the 
general  confidence  in  the  Bible,  as  indeed  the  Word  of  the  living 
God,  the  Revelation  of  His  will  to  men,  the  treasure-trust  of  every 
age,  and  the  all-sufficing  rule  of  faith  and  of  conduct,  of  religion  and 
of  morals,  for  all  humanity. 

The  Handbook  of  Biblical  Difficulties  is  not  intended  to  be  an 
elaborate  and  abstruse  treatise,  suited  only  for  the  learned  few.  It 
is  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  ever-enlarging  classes  that  are 
benefiting  by  the  modern  improved  methods  of  education,  and  arc 
culturing  an  inquiring  disposition,  which  would  know  the  '  why  '  and 
'  wherefore '  of  everything,  even  of  things  revealed. 

Throughout  the  work  hearty  loyalty  to  the  Inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures  will  be  maintained,  and  all  subjects  introduced  for  con 
sideration  will  be  treated  with  becoming  reverence,  and  with  a  con 


INTRODUCTION.  iii 

stant  endeavour  to  find  and  set  forth  those  higher  moral  and  spiritual 
teachings  that  may  be  in  them.  But  it  will  be  always  kept  in  view 
that,  as  God  was  pleased  to  use  human  minds  for  the  presentation  of 
His  truth  and  will,  so  He  is  now  pleased  to  use  human  minds  for  the 
understanding  and  unfolding  of  His  will.  Knowledge  of  life,  of 
men's  motives,  of  politics — local  and  national,  of  history,  of  human 
character,  and  of  Bible  lands  and  times,  will  often  suggest  simple 
and  probable  explanations  that  readily  remove  the  difficulties  of 
which  the  foes  of  God's  Word  are  disposed  to  make  so  much. 

Anything  like  the  manufacture  of  difficulties  is  carefully  avoided  ; 
and  only  such  are  treated  as  are  suggested  in  modern  sceptical 
literature,  or  naturally  suggest  themselves  to  thoughtful  readers. 

Some  difficulties  must  of  necessity  be  insoluble  under  our  present 
conditions  of  knowledge  and  of  mental  faculty  ;  but  some  of  these 
concern  subjects  which  Biblical  criticism  and  research  will,  by-and-by^ 
satisfactorily  explain ;  and  others  are  matters  of  purely  human  specu- 
lation, which  we  have  forcibly  associated  with  God's  Word,  but  are 
not,  properly  speaking,  matters  of  present  Divine  Revelation ;  and 
these  no  ingenuity  of  man  can  successfully  deal  with.  However 
valuable  and  interesting  men's  thoughts  on  such  matters  may  be, 
they  are  separate  and  distinct  from  God's  Revealed  Word,  which 
must  never  be  made  responsible  for  men's  arguments  or  theories  on 
purely  speculative  subjects. 

Sometimes,  in  this  work,  a  solution  is  suggested  which  only  fairly 
well  meets  the  difficulty  with  which  it  deals  ;  but  in  such  cases  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that  no  assertion  is  made  concerning  the  all- 
sufficiency  of  such  solutions.  There  are  instances  in  which  all  that 
can  possibly  be  done  is  the  lightening  of  the  pressure  of  a  difficulty 
by  showing  that  a  reasonable  explanation  can  be  offered. 

The  divisions  of  the  topics  of  necessity  involves  some  measure  of 
repetition,  as  the  same  general  principles  must  be  applied  to  different 
cases.  But  this  will  not  be  found  a  disadvantage  in  a  book  which, 
in  part,  takes  a  cyclopaedic  form. 

Throughout  the  work  a  calm  and  dispassionate  tone  is  preserved. 
The  object  aimed  at  is  instruction  and  suggestion,  the  direction  of  a 
thoughtful  and  prayerful  consideration  to  some  of  the  hindrances 

I  —  2 


iv  INTRODUCTION. 

that  stand  in  the  way  of  a  full  confidence  in,  and  free  practical  use 
of,  God's  Holy  Word,  that  Word  which  '  holy  men  of  God  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.' 


II. 

THE  VIEW  OF  THE  INSPIRATION  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE,  ON 
WHICH  THE  FOLLOWING  EXPLANATION  OF  DIFFICULTIES 
ARE  BASED. 

It  is  not  possible  within  the  limits  of  an  introductory  chapter  to 
attempt  an  essay  or  treatise  on  the  general  subject  of  Inspiration.  It 
will  suffice  for  our  purpose  to  record,  as  simply  as  possible,  the  points 
of  interest  which  have  come  plainly  to  view  out  of  the  varied  contro- 
versies of  recent  years,  and  to  fix  attention  on  such  as  have  gained, 
or  are  gaining,  general  acceptance. 

The  older  view,  more  or  less  correctly  known  as  the  doctrine  or 
Verbal  Inspiration,  is  thus  stated  by  Dr.  Knapp  : — *  Inspiration  is  an 
extraordinary  Divine  agency  upon  teachers  while  giving  instruction, 
whether  oral  or  written,  by  which  they  were  taught  what  and  how 
they  should  write  or  speak.'  Those  who  thus  defined  inspiration 
fully  recognised  that  God  operated  on  the  minds  of  men  in  a  variety 
of  different  ways ;  sometimes  by  audible  words,  sometimes  by  direct 
inward  suggestions,  sometimes  by  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  and 
sometimes  by  dreams  and  visions.  God  moved  and  guided  His 
servants  to  write  things  which  they  could  not  know  by  natural  means, 
or  led  them  to  write  the  history  of  events,  which  were  wholly  or 
partly  known  to  them  by  tradition,  or  by  the  testimony  of  their  con- 
temporaries, or  by  their  own  observation  or  experience.  But  the 
variety  in  the  form  and  manner  of  the  Divine  influence  detracted 
nothing  from  its  certainty.  The  writers  were  preserved  from  error, 
and  influenced  to  write  just  so  much,  and  in  such  a  manner,  as  God 
saw  to  be  best. 

Round  this  mode  of  representing  the  fact  and  truth  of  the  Divine 
Inspiration  the  controversies  of  recent  generations  have  been  waged, 
with  the  result  that  now  five  distinct  theories  are  presented,  and 


INTRODUCTION,  v 

belief  in  any  one  of  these  five  is  regarded  as  compatible  with 
membership  in  the  Orthodox  Christian  Church.  Archdeacon  Farrar 
gives  these  theories  in  brief  and  sharply-defined  terms. 

1.  The  organic^  mechanical,  or  dictation  theory.     It   holds  that 
every   sentence,  every  word,   nay,   even   every  syllable,  letter,   and 
vowel-point  of  Scripture  had  been  divinely  and  supernaturally  im- 
parted ;  that  the  authors  of  the  various  books,  known  and  unknown, 
had  no  share  in  their  composition ;  they  were  but  the  amanuenses 
and  instruments,  '  not  only  the  penmen,  but  the  pens,'  of  the  Holy 
Spirit — being  not  even  the  active  recipients,  but  the  mere  passive 
vehicles  of  that  which,  through  them,  but  with  no  co-operation  of 
their  own,  was  imparted  to  mankind.     According  to  this  theory,  the 
Bible  is  in  every  text  absolutely  supernatural,  transcendently  Divine. 

2.  The  dynamic  or  power  theory.     It  holds  that  Holy  Scripture 
was  not  '  dictated  by,'  but  '  committed  to  writing  under  the  guidance 
of,'  the  Holy  Spirit.     While  recognising  the  Divine  energy,  it  does 
not  annihilate  the  human  co-operation.     The  truths  are  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  words  and  phrases  are  the  result  of  the  writer's 
own  individuality;   the  material   is  of  God,   the   form  is  of  man. 
According  to  this  theory,  the  Bible  is  throughout  human,  as  well  as 
throughout  Divine. 

3.  The  theory  of  Illumination,  understanding  that  word  to  suggest 
various  degrees  of  inspiration.     Some  distinguish  between  the  grace 
)f  superintendency,  the  grace  of  elevation,  the  grace  of  direction,  and 
:he  grace  of  suggestion.     According   to   this   theory,  the    Bible   is 
Divine,  but  in  different  degrees. 

4.  The  theory  of  essential,  as  distinguished  from  plenary  inspira- 
ion.     It  holds  that  the  Bible  contains  the  word  of  God,  that  it  is  the 
ecord  of  a  Divine  revelation,  and  the  authors  were  inspired  by  the 
rloly  Spirit ;  but  it  confines  this  inspiration  to  matters  of  doctrine, 
norality,  and  faith.     The  accidental  allusions  of  Scripture,  and  its 
)assing  phrases,  need  not  be  treated  as  inspired.     According  to  this 
heory,  the  Bible  is  only  Divine  in  matters  of  faith. 

5.  The  theory  of  ordinary  inspiration.     It  holds  that  the  action  of 
he  Holy  Spirit,  as  exercised  in  the  inspiration  of  Scripture,  is  not 
fenerically  distinct  from  the  ordinary  influence  of  that  Holy  Spirit 


vi  INTRODUCTION. 


upon  the  heart  and  intellect  of  all  Christian  men,  which  all  admit  to 
be  analogous  to  it.  Each  book  and  passage  of  Scripture  must  be 
tested  by  its  inherent  consistency  with  that  which  we  learn  of  God's 
will  from  His  revelation  of  Himself,  above  all  in  the  life  of  Christ. 
According  to  this  theory  the  Bible  is  inspired,  but  not  always 
miraculous. 

(For  fuller  explanations  of  these  theories,  see  articles  in  'Bible 
Educator,'  vol.  i.,  pp.  205,  206.) 

From  this  statement  of  modern  opinions  it  will  be  seen  within 
what  wide  limits  orthodox  thought  may  now  range.  In  an  eclectic 
spirit  the  following  work  is  based  upon  the  measure  of  truth  there 
seems  to  be  in  all  these  theories,  while  jealously  preserving  the 
central  truth,  that  a  special  Divine  fitness  was  given  to  the  various 
writers,  and  a  special  Divine  guidance  directed  the  gathering  together, 
and  preserving,  of  these  sacred  books. 

In  relation  to  the  particular  -study  of  '  Biblical  Difficulties,'  certain 
features  of  the  Book  have  been  set  in  prominence.  Brief  notice  may 
be  taken  of  the  following  : — 

i.  The  individuality  of  the  agents  employed  is  plainly  impressed 
on  their  several  works.  The  style  of  this  man  and  that  is  evidently 
retained  in  their  compositions ;  and  when  this  fact  is  thought  out,  it 
comes  to  view  that  the  measure  of  knowledge  of  each  writer,  his  very 
modes  of  thinking,  and  the  personal  meaning  he  attaches  to  particular 
words,  are  kept  and  used.  A  writer  never  loses  his  individuality  by 
becoming  an  inspired  writer;  and  what  he  writes  must,  in  part  at 
least,  be  judged  by  the  application  of  ordinary  literary  rules  and 
standards.  This  point  is  kept  in  view,  and  many  difficulties  con- 
nected with  composition  and  language  find  their  solution  in  the  light 
of  it. 

'  The  employment  of  the  human  mind  as  the  agent,  and  of  humar 
language  and  writing  as  the  instruments,  necessarily  involves  r 
measure  of  fallibility  in  the  record  of  the  revelation.  It  ought 
indeed,  to  be  distinctly  borne  in  mind  that  there  is  no  necessary,  01 
even  reasonable,  connection  between  a  man's  being  the  subject  of  t 
special  Divine  communication  and  his  subsequent  universal  infalli 
bility ;  nor  can  we  have  the  assurance  of  such  infallibility  unless  w< 


INTRODUCTION.  vii 

could  insure,  not  only  the  presence  of  the  Divine  Spirit  in  the  man, 
but  also  the  absence  of  everything  else.' 

2.  Seeing  that  man  is  endowed  with  faculties  by  Nature,  which 
enable   him   to   search   out   and   know  everything  connected   with 
Nature  necessary  for  his  individual  welfare,  and  for  the  welfare  of  the 
race ;  and  seeing  that  such  '  searching  out '  is  a  necessary  condition 
of  his  intellectual  and  social  development,  it  is  unreasonable  for  him 
to  expect,  and  it  would  be  injurious  for  him  to  receive,  an  infallible 
revelation  on  matters  of  science,  observation,  philosophy,  or  history. 
And  the  Bible  never  assumes  that  it  bears  any  such  character.     Dr. 
Angus  says  :  i  We  must  not  expect  to  learn  anything  from  Scripture, 
except  what  it  is,  in  a  religious  point  of  view,  important  for  us  to 
know.     Some  seek  the  "dead  among  the  living"  (as   Lord  Bacon 
phrased  it),  and   look  into   the    Bible   for  natural  philosophy  and 
human  science.' 

But  it  follows  from  this  that  the  ancient  books  of  our  Scripture 
contain  the  ethical,  scientific,  social,  and  governmental  notions  of  the 
ages  in  which  they  were  severally  written ;  and  that  very  much 
recorded  in  the  Bible  must  be  seen  in  the  light  of  ancient  sentiments 
and  early  limitations  of  knowledge.  By  the  application  of  this  prin- 
ciple many  Bible  difficulties  find  satisfactory  solution. 

3.  In  the  sphere  of  morals  man  is  placed  under  two  serious  dis- 
abilities.    By  his  very  constitution  he  is  made  dependent  on  God  for 
the  distinctions  between  right  and  wrong ;  and  by  his  own  attempt  at 
self-rule,  and  consequent  experience  of  evil  and  its  consequences,  he 
has  blinded  himself  so  that  he  confuses  the  distinctions  which  God 
sets  before  him.     In  the  sp  ere,  therefore,  of  morals  and  religion, 
where  man  is  especially  weak,  there  is  pressing  need  for  an  infallible 
Divine  revelation,  which  can  guide  with  authority  man's  conduct  and 
opinion. 

It  is  reasonable,  therefore,  to  expect  moral  and  religious  counsels 
and  truths  at  the  heart  of  historical  events,  and  of  incidents  associated 
with  individuals ;  and  a  surface  Bible  difficulty  is  often  removed  when 
we  can  see  the  higher  moral  and  spiritual  purpose  for  which  the 
events  are  recorded. 

4.  Remarks  will  be  found  elsewhere  on  the  progressive  character  of 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

the  Divine  Revelation,  and  on  the  distinction  between  the  truth  and 
the  setting  that  truth  may  need  for  its  adaptation  to  a  particular 
people,  at  a  particular  time. 

5.  It  is  only  necessary  further  to  call  to  mind  that  the  Bible  cannot 
fail  to  retain  the  impressions  made  by  the  editing  of  its  various  con- 
tents, and  its  translation  from  one  language  into  another.  Words  in 
different  languages  are  not  always  precise  equivalents,  and  effective 
relief  of  difficulties  in  Bible  expressions  is  often  gained  by  consulting 
the  translation  into  another  tongue. 

Without  more  closely  denning  a  theory  of  inspiration,  in  view  of 
the  treatment  pursued  in  this  *  Handbook  of  Biblical  Difficulties,'  it 
may  be  said  that  a  human  element  is  recognised  in  the  Bible,  as  we 
have  it ;  that  this  human  element  is  the  main  cause  of  the  perplexities 
which  earnest  and  devout  persons  find  in  studying  it ;  that  these 
human  errors  may  be  discovered  and  corrected  by  human  skill,  and 
with  the  aid  of  human  knowledge ;  that  the  removal  of  difficulties 
will  only  make  the  pure  revealed  will  of  God  shine  out  with  fuller, 
clearer  rays  ;  and  that  a  faithful  effort  to  correct  the  human  mistakes 
in  God's  Word,  and  to  relieve  it  of  burdensome  perplexities,  can  be 
made  consistently  with  a  most  reverent  love  for  it  as  the  one,  only, 
and  all-sufficient  revelation  of  God's  will,  of  God,  of  man,  of  sal- 
vation, of  faith,  and  of  duty,  for  the  entire  human  race. 

A.  J.  Scott  suggestively  writes  :  '  There  is,  then,  anterior  to  Scrip- 
ture, a  manifold  revelation  of  God.  Of  this,  Scripture  is  a  history 
and  an  exposition.  We  have  seen  how  it  recounts  and  expands  the 
Divine  manifestations  in  creation,  in  providence,  in  miracles,  in 
human  conscience,  in  inspired  thoughts,  words,  and  works.  We  lose 
the  lesson  of  great  part  of  the  Bible  if  we  regard  it  merely  as  an 
inspired  and  authoritative  announcement  to  us  noiv  ;  not  historically, 
as  recording,  for  our  example,  the  condition  of  human  spirits  under 
the  power  of  Divine  inspiration  of  old.' 

And  Isaac  Taylor  has  the  following  fine  passage  on  the  Bible, 
which  is  well  worthy  of  being  commended  to  the  attention  of  our 
readers  : — 'As  a  human  work,  as  a  collection  of  ancient  treatises, 
letters,  and  histories,  composed  by  almost  as  many  authors  as  there 
are  separate  pieces,  it  is  plainly  liable  to  all  the  ordinary  conditions 


INTR  OD  UCT1ON.  ix 

of  other  ancient  literature  ;  and  not  merely  to  the  critical,  but  to  the 
logical  conditions  that  belong  to  the  products  of  the  human  mind ; 
and,  of  course,  when  categorically  interrogated  for  its  evidence  in 
relation  to  certain  abstract  positions,  derived,  not  from  itself,  but 
from  a  variable  theological  science,  will  yield  not  a  few  apparent 
contrarieties.  This  would  be  the  case  even  were  the  Bible  the  work 
of  a  single  author.  But  the  Bible  claims  no  respect  at  all  as  an 
authority  in  religion,  unless  it  be  received  as,  in  the  fullest  sense,  a 
Divine  work.  As  such  it  must  have  its  peculiar  conditions,  and  the 
most  important  of  these  spring  from  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures 
contain  true  information,  explicit  or  implied,  concerning  more 
systems  than  one,  and  more  orders  of  causation  than  one.  .  .  .  The 
harmony  of  the  various  portions  will  never  come  within  the  range  of 
the  methods  of  human  science ;  for  human  science  is  drawn  from 
one  system  only,  and  is  vague  and  imperfect,  even  in  relation  to  that 
one  system.' 

An  unconscious  testimony  to  the  uniqueness — may  we  not  say  to 
the  Divine  inspiration — of  the  Bible  is  recorded  by  Reville,  an 
advocate  of  French  Rationalism,  in  an  essay  in  the  c  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes.'  *  One  day  the  question  was  started  in  an  assembly,  What 
book  a  man  condemned  to  a  life-long  imprisonment,  and  to  whom 
but  one  would  be  allowed,  had  better  choose  to  take  into  the  cell 
with  him  ?  The  company  consisted  of  Catholics,  Protestants,  philo- 
sophers, and  even  Materialists,  but  all  agreed  that  his  choice  would 
fall  only  on  the  Bible.'  Surely  a  distinguished  tribute  to  the  Bible — 
a  tribute  not  merely  to  its  intellectual  excellence,  but  also  to  its 
religions  importance. 


HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


SECTION  I. 
DIFFICULTIES  RELATING  TO  MORAL  SENTIMENTS. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

THE  so-called  '  moral  difficulties '  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures 
are,  to  a  very  large  extent,  created  by  those  who  cannot  recognise 
that  Divine  revelation  has  been  given  to  men  in  stages,  with  an 
evident  progression  towards  completeness,  and  in  each  stage  with 
precise  adaptation  to  the  associations  and  the  capabilities  of  the  age. 
The  truth  of  the  '  accommodation  '  of  Divine  revelation  to  the  times 
in  which  it  is  given,  and  to  the  circumstances  and  associations  and 
mental  capacities  of  the  people  to  whom  it  is  addressed,  Bible  readers 
have  gravely  hesitated  to  receive.  It  is  now,  however,  becoming  a 
more  familiar  truth,  and  it  is  found  to  be  practically  efficient  for  the 
removal  of  some  of  the  most  perplexing  Old  Testament  difficulties. 

One  of  the  most  cautious  and  judicious  writers  of  the  modern 
school  of  religious  thought  is  the  late  Frederic  Myers,  M.A.,  of 
Keswick.  He  says  :  '  Not  only  is  there  progression  in  the  revelation 
of  the  Bible,  but  also  accommodation.  By  accommodation  is  meant 
not  merely  the  use  of  sensible  images  and  purely  human  expressions 
in  the  conveyance  of  spiritual  ideas,  or  of  types  and  symbols,  and 
parables  and  allegories,  in  the  exhibition  or  explanation  of  invisible 
realities ;  but  more  than  this,  namely,  the  temporary  permission  and 
sanction  of  existing  modes  of  thought  and  feeling  with  regard  to 
religious  truth  and  duty,  which  were  not  merely  inadequate  but 
partially  untrue,  and  which  it  was  intended  subsequently  to  supersede 
by  fuller  revelations.  The  earlier  anthropomorphic  representations 
of  Deity  are  of  this  kind  ;  and,  indeed,  throughout  the  whole  law  of 
Moses,  God  is  spoken  of  in  terms  which  require  a  translation  into 
other  language  with  which  the  later  revelations  have  furnished  us 


12        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

before  we  can  heartily  accept  them  as  Divine.  It  is  only,  indeed,  on 
this  principle  of  accommodation  that  we  can  learn  willingly  to 
associate  some  portion  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  with  the  revelations 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ 

'  And  when  we  turn  from  the  region  of  Truth  to  that  of  Morality, 
we  find  this  assumption  still  more  necessary.  We  find  the  polygamy 
of  the  Patriarchs  and  of  David  and  of  Solomon,  and  the  warrior 
spirit  of  the  Judges,  and  many  acts  of  treachery  and  of  cruelty, 
from  Jael  to  Jehu,  sanctioned  rather  than  rebuked  by  prophetic 
communications. 

'  For  of  all  the  difficulties  which  present  themselves  in  our  reading 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  by  far  the  most  urgent  is  the  contradiction 
which  we  feel  between  much  of  the  spirit  which  was  there  sanctioned 
and  approved,  and  that  which  is  the  first  commandment  of  the  New. 
This  has  been  so  frequently  and  so  forcibly  felt  by  many  in  all  ages 
— by  the  most  pious,  as  well  as  by  the  less  so — that  it  has  been  a 
constant  subject  of  difficulty  and  discussion.  In  the  earliest  ages  of 
the  Church  this  was  so  much  the  case  that  the  Old  Testament  was 
supposed  by  many  to  have  had  an  origin  the  most  opposed  to 
Divine.  ...  So  long  as  the  principle  of  progression  and  accom- 
modation in  God's  revelations  is  not  recognised  but  rejected,  there 
will  always  seem  to  some  a  certain  measure  of  reasonableness  and 
healthy  moral  instinct  in  the  distaste  which  is  felt  towards  much  of 
the  spirit  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  In  such  case  no  explanations 
or  expositions  will  fail  to  remove  the  first  impressions  conveyed  by 
the  fact  of  the  slaughter  of  the  Canaanites  being  said  to  be  in  its 
details  the  command  of  the  Most  High;  nor  will  enable  us  to 
reconcile  with  the  later  revelations  of  Deity  the  other  suggestions 
and  approvals  which  we  find  ascribed  to  God  in  the  histories  of 
several  of  the  Judges  ;  or  the  commands  which  were  given,  and  the 
spirit  which  was  exhibited,  by  several  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  the 
prophets.  The  execrations  of  several  of  the  Psalms  ever  have 
appeared,  and  ever  will  appear,  incongruous  with  that  peculiar  spirit 
which  the  Christian  is  to  be  of,  while  many  of  the  habits 
and  practices  and  views  of  the  most  approved  of  old  time  will 
obviously  not  bear  to  be  transferred  to  our  conception  of  any  New 
Testament  saint.  So  long  as  we  are  not  permitted  to  believe  that 
God  gave  precepts  of  Duty  and  revelations  of  Truth  to  his  people  of 
old  only  as  they  could  bear  them,  and  tolerated  the  co-existence  and 
commingling  of  much  darkness  of  the  natural  man  with  the  special 
illuminations  of  His  Spirit,  so  long  we  cannot  but  contrast,  and 
contrasting  pronounce  in  many  parts  as  contradictory,  the  spirit  of 


DIFFICULTIES  AND  MORAL  SENTIMENTS.       13 

the  kingdom  which  was  of  this  world  and  the  spirit  of  that  kingdom 
which  was  not  of  this  world — the  spirit  of  a  Joshua,  a  Samson,  or  an 
Elisha  with  the  spirit  of  a  Peter,  a  John,  or  a  Paul.' 

The  moral  difficulties  dealt  with  in  this  section  concern  either  (i) 
:he  imperfect  sentiments  of  a  particular  age;  or  (2)  questions  of 
:asuistry,  or  the  exceptions  which  must  be  made  to  moral  rule  under 
pressing  exigencies ;  or  (3)  the  infirmities  and  errors  of  those  who 
nay,  on  the  whole,  be  called  good  ;  or  (4)  the  difficulties  created  by 
inthropomorphic  and  anthropopathic  representations  of  God. 

It  is  not  usually  found  an  easy  thing  to  distinguish  carefully 
Detween  the  great  foundation  moral  laws  which  God  has  prescribed 
for  man  as  man,  and  for  man  in  his  more  personal  and  family  rela- 
:ions,  and  those  bye-laws  which  man  has  himself  arranged  for  the 
ordering  of  society  and  the  relations  of  the  several  nations,  and 
vvhich  may  be,  more  or  less,  excellent  adaptations  of  the  Divine  laws, 
but  must  be  in  precise  adjustment  to  the  sentiments  and  circum 
stances  of  each  particular  age  and  people.  God  may  approve  of 
nan's  bye-laws  for  the  age  and  condition,  but  we  must  not  assume 
nore  than  a  temporary  and  conditional  approbation.  Many  of  the 
permitted  things  of  the  Old  Testament  are  allowed  because  of  their 
igreement  with  man's  accepted  bye-laws,  and  not  because  they  are 
ibsolutely  right. 

The  questions  of  casuistry  are  so  many  and  so  subtle  as  to  have 
Become  the  basis  of  a  science.  Under  some  circumstances  all 
noralists  admit  that  the  laws  of  truthfulness  may  be  relaxed ;  the 
prisoner  may  deceive  to  get  out  of  his  dungeon;  the  general  may 
deceive  to  gain  an  advantage  in  war.  So  far  as  universal  sentiment 
illows  a  departure  from  moral  rules  for  the  preservation  of  life  and 
lonour,  this  excuse  may  be  applied  to  the  actions  of  the  men  and 
<vomen  of  the  Old  Testament. 

It  is  not  always  sufficiently  recognised  that,  in  using  men  as  the 
igents  for  carrying  out  His  purposes,  God  employs  moral  beings,  who 
Dut  character  into  the  method  of  their  obedience.  God  orders  the 
:hing,  but  man  finds  the  particular  way  of  doing  it.  And  so  God 
nay  approve  and  reward  the  thing  done,  while  at  the  same  time  He 
nay  disapprove  the  way  in  which  it  was  done,  and  even  punish  the 
igent  for  the  sin  in  his  method  of  doing  it.  An  illustration  of  this 
nay  be  found  in  the  story  of  the  violent  Jehu. 

Historical  truthfulness,  it  should  be  observed,  does  not  involve 
inlimited  and  uncritical  commendation.  An  older  notion  was,  that 
iverything  narrated  in  Holy  Scripture  of  good  men  must  somehow 
)e  good,  and  painful  efforts  were  made  to  find  excuses  for  what  were 


14        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

manifestly  faults,  failings,  and  sins,  and  should  be  simply  called  by 
their  right  names.  The  direct  relation  of  Scripture  to  the  teaching 
of  morals  comes  out  in  nothing  so  impressively  as  in  the  fact  that  the 
character  and  conduct  of  the  persons  introduced  are  fully  and 
honestly  detailed.  In  the  ordinary  biographies  of  gifted  and  good 
people  we  always  have  one-sided  pictures.  The  human  faults  are 
hidden  or  slurred  over,  and  palliated.  The  effort  of  many  biographers 
is  to  present  a  fancy  picture  of  a  life  on  which  lies  no  stain  ;  and  so, 
in  the  ordinary  biography,  there  may  be  much  intellectual  teaching, 
and  much  inspiration  to  seeking  after  high  and  noble  attainments, 
but  there  is  seldom  direct  moral  teaching.  Exactly  the  opposite  is 
true  of  the  Scriptures.  Their  mission  is  moral ;  so  they  give  us  the 
men  as  they  really  were,  and  expect  us  to  call  their  moral  failings  by 
their  right  names,  and  to  learn  from  their  sins  as  well  as  from  their 
virtues. 

Only  one  point  more  need  be  noticed.  The  severities  of  Eastern 
and  ancient  methods  in  dealing  with  individuals  under  kingly  tyran- 
nies, and  with  cities  and  armies  in  war-times,  create  constant  sur- 
prise and  offence.  But  two  things  should  be  kept  in  mind:  (i)  the 
small  value  that  has  always  been  put  on  life  in  Eastern  countries;  and 
(2)  that  the  sentiment  of  humanity  in  relation  to  war  is  almost  en- 
tirely a  product  of  our  highly  civilized  and  peace-loving  age.  Even 
in  the  times  of  our  grandfathers,  horrible  deeds  were  done  in  India 
and  Spain,  at  the  sack  of  conquered  cities,  against  which  the  senti- 
ment of  their  age  did  not  greatly  revolt,  and  which  even  now  seem  to 
us  but  the  weak  side  of  heroic  deeds.  In  view  of  such  things  it 
should  not  be  difficult  for  us  rightly  to  regard  the  harrowing  details  of 
ancient  warfare.  * 

Writing  of  Jael's  dreadful  and  treacherous  deed,  Dr.  Arnold,  of 
Rugby,  says :  '  The  spirit  of  the  commendation  of  Jael  is  that  God  allows 
largely  for  ignorance  where  He  finds  sincerity ;  that  they  who  serve 
Him  honestly  up  to  the  measure  of  their  knowledge  are,  according  to 
the  general  course  of  His  providence,  encouraged  and  blessed ;  that 
they  whose  eyes  and  heart  are  still  fixed  on  duty  and  not  on  self  are 
plainly  that  smoking  flax  which  He  will  not  quench,  but  cherish 

rather  until  it  be  blown  into  a  flame Right  and  good  it  is 

that  we  should  condemn  the  acts  of  many  of  those  commended  in 
the  Old  Testament,  for  we  have  seen  what  prophets  and  righteous 
men  for  many  an  age  were  not  permitted  to  see ;  but  no  less  right 
and  needful  it  is  that  we  should  imitate  their  fearless  zeal,  without 
which  we,  in  our  knowledge,  are  without  excuse ;  with  which  they, 
by  their  unavoidable  ignorance,  were  even  in  their  evil  deeds 
blessed. 


DIFFICULTIES    RELATING    TO    MORAL 
SENTIMENTS. 


God  represented  as  employing  a  Lying  Spirit. 

I  KINGS  xxii.  22,  23  :  'And  he  said,  I  will  go  forth,  and  will  be  a  lying  spirit 
in  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets.  And  he  said,  Thou  shalt  entice  him,  and  shalt 
prevail  also  ;  go  forth,  and  do  so.  Now  therefore,  behold,  the  Lord  hath  put  a  lying 
spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  these  thy  prophets  ;  and  the  Lord  hath  spoken  evil  con- 
cerning thee.'  (Rev.  Ver.} 

Difficulty. — How  can  we  conceive  of  God  as  using  untruthful  and 
evil  agencies  for  carrying  out  of  His  purposes  ? 

Explanation. — We  should  distinctly  see  that  this  is  part  of  a 
vision  granted  to  Micaiah,  and  is  in  no  sense  intended  to  be  a 
description  of  what  had  actually  taken  place  in  the  upper  world. 
Apologues,  fables,  parables,  and  visions  are  misused  when  they  are 
treated  as  literally  descriptive.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  Eastern 
mind  that  nqthing  can  be  stated  in  plain,  prosaic,  logical  terms.  The 
Eastern  is  always  carried  away  with  the  desire  to  '  make  a  picture  of 
t,'  but  no  importance  attaches  to  the  figures  and  situations  of  the 
oicture,  beyond  the  power  they  may  have  in  carrying  to  other  minds 
:he  point,  the  fact,  the  truth  with  which  the  speaker  may  be  dealing. 
In  this  vision  we  must  be  very  careful  not  to  force  meaning  into 
•vhat  is  mere  setting,  mere  background. 

Dean  Stanley  brings  out  the  true  points  of  this  speech  of  Micaiah's. 
In  the  vision  which  he  describes,  we  feel  that  we  are  gradually 
Irawing  nearer  to  the  times  of  the  later  prophets.  It  is  a  vision 
vhich  might  rank  amongst  those  of  Isaiah  or  of  Ezekiel.  .  .  .  Above, 
le  sees  the  God  of  Israel  on  His  throne,  as  the  kings  on  their  thrones 
)efore  the  gate  of  Samaria.  His  host,  as  theirs,  is  all  around  Him. 
There  is  a  glimpse  into  the  truth,  so  difficult  of  conception  in  early 
iges,  that  even  the  Almighty  works  by  secondary  agents.  Not  by 


16        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Himself,  but  by  one  or  other  of  His  innumerable  hosts ;  not  by  these 
indiscriminately,  but  by  one,  to  whom  is  given  the  name  of  'the 
spirit.'  Not  by  any  sudden  stroke  of  vengeance,  but  by  the  very 
network  of  evil  counsel  which  he  has  woven  for  himself,  is  the  King 
of  Israel  to  be  led  to  his  ruin.  The  imagery  of  the  vision  of  Micaiah 
is  the  first  germ  of  the  prologue  of  Job,  and  conveys  the  same  exalted 
glance  into  the  unseen  guidance  of  good  and  evil  by  the  same  over- 
ruling Hand.' 

The  '  Speaker's  Commentary '  supports  the  view  taken  in  the  first 
paragraph.  '  It  may  be  doubted  whether  we  ought  to  take  literally, 
and  seek  to  interpret  exactly,  each  statement  of  the  present  narrative. 
Visions  of  the  invisible  world  can  only  be  a  sort  of  parables ;  reve- 
lations, not  of  the  truth  as  it  actually  is,  but  of  so  much  of  the  truth 
as  can  be  shown  through  such  a  medium.  The  details  of  a  vision, 
therefore,  cannot  safely  be  pressed,  any  more  than  the  details  of  a 
parable.  Portions  of  each  must  be  accommodations  to  human  modes 
of  thought,  and  may  very  inadequately  express  the  realities  which 
they  are  employed  to  shadow  forth  to  us.' 

When  the  passage  is  thus  relieved  of  any  directly  historical  or 
descriptive  features,  there  yet  remains  the  difficulty  that  God  appears 
to  be  working  out  His  purposes  by  the  use  of  evil  agencies. 

God  is  often  said  in  Scripture  to  do  what  we  are  to  understand 
Him  as  permitting  and  overruling.  He  who  is  supreme  Governor  of 
the  world  has  to  deal  with  the  fact  that  there  are  evil  forces,  products 
of  man's  self-will,  working  in  the  world,  and  that  much  of  human 
conduct  is  due  to  the  incitement  of  these  evil  forces.  Ambitions, 
selfishnesses,  deceptions,  malice,  revenge,  conceit,  and  similar  evil 
things  are  the  keys  to  men's  actions  and  to  men's  influence  on  their 
fellows.  He  who  proposes  to  rule  the  world  to  righteous  issues 
cannot  be  indifferent  to  these  things ;  He  cannot  at  once  resist  them, 
consistently  with  His  purpose  of  securing  the  moral  recovery  of  the 
world  by  moral  means.  He  can  so  far  accept  them,  and  use  them 
or  overrule  them  to  the  outworking  of  His  ends,  making  the  wicked- 
ness, as  well  as  the  wrath,  of  men  praise  Him. 

What  God  can  thus  righteously  do  may  be  apprehended  by  observ- 
ing the  methods  which  parents  and  school-teachers  find  it  necessar> 
sometimes  to  adopt.  In  the  family  or  the  school  certain  evil  in 
fluences  are  known  to  be  at  work,  but  the  parent  or  teacher  does  no 
think  it  wise  to  interfere  for  a  time.  In  effect  they  say,  'Let  the 
evil  work  itself  out  into  open  shame  and  calamity.  Let  the  evil  shov 
itself  in  its  natural  consequences.'  We  see  no  wrong  in  parents  anc 
teachers  thus  using  and  overruling  existing  evil  forces. 


GOD  EMPLOYING  A  LYING  SPIRIT.  17 

In  the  case  of  Ahab  we  have  indeed  the  further  difficulty  of  a  lying 
spirit  being  spoken  of  as  a  person  in  the  Divine  employ.  But,  with- 
out attempting  to  deal  with  the  vexed  question  of  the  personality  of 
the  so-called  Satan,  it  may  be  remarked  that  this  allusion  should  be 
interpreted  by  the  conception,  common  to  all  religions  recognising 
the  terrible  existence  of  evil  in  the  world,  of  a  spiritual  power  of  evil 
(called  euphemistically  '  the  spirit ')  overruled  to  work  out  the  judg- 
ments of  God.  The  absolute  subordination  of  such  spirits  of  evil  in 
every  notice  of  them  in  the  Old  Testament  precludes  all  danger  of 
the  monstrous  dualism  of  so  many  Eastern  religions. 

The  point  to  keep  in  mind  is,  that  Ahab  was  a  man  actually  under 
the  Divine  sentence,  but  his  sentence  was  to  be  executed  in  the 
ordinary  way  of  Providence,  and  not  by  a  special  visitation.  If, 
through  the  vision  of  Micaiah,  we  are  permitted  to  see  the  course  and 
working  of  those  providences,  it  is  that  Ahab  and  his  people  might 
fail  to  see  Divine  judgment  in  what  would  look  so  much  like  a  mere 
accident  of  the  battle-field.  Jezebel's  dreadful  death  would  not  be 
misunderstood;  but  Ahab's  more  ordinary  death  might  be.  So  we 
must  be  plainly  shown  that  it  also  was  a  carrying  out  of  the  Divine 
sentence  on  the  man  whose  covetous  soul  was  stained  with  the  blood 
of  the  innocent. 

Ewald  gives  the  above  explanation  in  the  following  sentences  : 
Micaiah,  c  in  unmistakable  language,  designated  the  spirit  of  the 
false  prophet  as  the  Divine  instrument  for  deluding  and  seducing 
Ahab  into  the  impending  war.  The  cause  of  Ahab's  being  seduced 
into  marching  on  the  expedition  in  which  he  is  doomed  to  fall,  is,  in 
the  last  resort,  Jahveh  Himself,  against  whom  he  has  so  deeply  erred. 
But,  as  the  best  instrument  for  that  purpose,  Jahveh  employs  the 
spirit,  consequently  the  spirit  of  the  false  prophets.  From  these  truths 
arises  the  grand  representation  in  i  Kings  xxii.  19-23,  which  in  vivid- 
ness and  power  rivals  that  in  Job  i.  6,  etc.,  and  yet  only  carries  into 
further  detail  the  briefer  utterance  of  Isa.  xix.  14.' 

Bishop  Wordsworth  says  :  '  God  punishes  Ahab  by  means  of  his 
own  sin.  He  "  chooses  "  Ahab's  "  delusions  "  as  the  means  of  Ahab's 
destruction,  and  makes  Ahab's  own  backslidings  to  reprove  him. 
Ahab  had  preferred  lies  to  Him  who  is  the  Truth  ;  and  He  who  is  the 
Truth  will  make  the  lies  which  Ahab  prefers  to  be  the  instruments 
of  punishing  him  who  love  them,  and  of  avenging  the  cause  of  Him 
who  is  the  Truth.' 

Matthew  Henry  gives  the  following  wise  warning  to  the  readers  of 
this  narrative  :  '  The  matter  is  here  represented  after  the  manner  of 
men.  We  are  not  to  imagine  that  God  is  ever  put  upon  new  counsels, 


i8        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


or  is  ever  at  a  loss  for  means  whereby  to  effect  His  purposes,  nor  that 
He  needs  to  consult  with  angels,  or  any  creature,  about  the  methods 
He  should  take,  nor  that  He  is  the  author  of  sin,  or  the  cause  of  any 
man's  either  telling  or  believing  a  lie.' 

The  Assassination  of  Eglon. 

JUDGES  iii.  15,  20,  21  :  '  But  when  the  children  of  Israel  cried  unto  the  Lord, 
the  Lord  raised  them  up  a  saviour,  Ehud  the  son  of  Gera,  the  Benjamite,  a  man 
left  handed  ....  And  Ehud  said,  I  have  a  message  from  God  unto  thee.  And 
he  arose  out  of  his  seat.  And  Ehud  put  forth  his  left  hand,  and  took  the  sword 
from  his  right  thigh,  and  thrust  it  into  his  belly.' 

Difficulty. — This  assertion  that  Ehud's  act  was  done  in  fulfilment 
of  a  Divine  commission  strangely  'confuses  our  minds  concerning  the 
shameful  wickedness  of  all  assassinations,  but  more  especially  of  treach- 
erous ones. 

Explanation. — As  in  so  many  other  cases,  we  must  distinguish 
in  this  record  between  the  actual  facts  that  took  placeand  the  senti- 
ment entertained  about  those  facts  at  the  time,  or  when,  a  little  later, 
they  were  reviewed  and  recorded  by  the  author  of  our  Scripture  nar- 
rative. So  far  as  the  Bible  is  a  book  produced  under  ordinary  human 
conditions,  we  must  treat  it  as  we  do  other  books.  We  always  en- 
deavour to  distinguish  between  the  facts  which  an  author  may  give 
and  the  opinions  about  those  facts  which  he  may  think  it  right  to 
express.  We  accept  his  facts,  but  we  may  possess  clearer  light  and 
fuller  knowledge,  and,  in  consequence,  we  may  have  quite  different 
opinions  about  the  facts. 

Writing  about  Ehud  with  the  sentiments  of  that  age,  and  with  the 
special  ideas  and  prejudices  of  a  Hebrew,  the  author  of  this  book  of 
Judges  gives  us  both  historical  facts  and  his  opinions  about  them. 
But  we,  knowing  more  fully  the  mind  of  God,  and  having  His  fuller 
revelation,  cannot  but  criticise  his  opinions.  We  see  no  signs  of  a 
special  commission  to  assassinate  given  by  God  to  Eglon.  Patriotism 
produces  such  deliverers  over  and  over  again  in  the  world's  history. 
No  one  ventures  to  assert  that  any  Divine  direction  was  given  to  Brutus, 
who  assassinated  Julius  Caesar,  or  to  Charlotte  Corday,  who  assassi- 
nated Marat. 

Treachery  and  assassination  can  never  be  else  than  grievously 
offensive  to  God.  It  is  crime  against  man,  against  social  order,  and 
against  His  rule  ;  and  no  circumstances  can  possibly  make  assassina- 
tion a  right  or  a  good  thing.  All  that  we  can  say  is,  that  He  who 
overrules  both  men's  evil  and  men's  good  can  make  even  the  results 
of  men's  treachery  and  murder  work  towards  the  fulfilment  of  His 


THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  EGLON.  19 

gracious  purposes.  Ehud  may  have  thought  himself  swayed  by  a 
Divine  impulse ;  a  delivered  people  may  have  put  a  glamour  round 
his  act,  and  spoken  of  it  as  religious  as  well  as  patriotic ;  but  nothing 
can  prevent  our  calling  his  deed  what  it  really  was— a  foul,  treacherous, 
and  dreadful  murder.  The  wickedness  of  it  no  sort  of  explanation 
should  be  permitted  to  relieve. 

Kitto  well  says  :  '  We  cannot  praise  his  achievement,  nor  sympathize 
with  it,  attended  as  it  was  by  circumstances  of  barbarity  and  deceit. 
But  some  allowance  may  be  made  for  the  views,  different  from  ours, 
but  into  which  human  nature  is  still  prone  to  relapse,  of  the  obliga- 
tion or  rights  of  patriotic  enthusiasm.' 

Starke  says  :  '  Ehud  kills  Eglon,  the  tyrant  of  Israel ;  yet  he  is  not 
properly  a  murderer,  but  only  a  warrior.  However,  it  is  better  to 
conquer  as  Othniel  and  Gideon  conquered.  He  did  it,  not  for  private 
revenge,  nor  from  fanaticism,  but  for  the  just  freedom  of  Israel  and  its 
religion.  God  raised  him  up,  but  yet  the  Word  of  God  does  not 
approve  his  deed.  He  was  a  deliverer  of  Israel,  but  there  hangs  a 
shadow,  nevertheless,  over  his  official  activity.  Therefore,  no  mur- 
derous passion  can  appeal  to  Him.  By  Him  no  tyrant-murder,  no 
political  assassination,  is  exculpated.' 

This  subject  is  very  wisely  and  suggestively  treated  by  Lord  Arthur 
Hervey,  the  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  in  a  note  in  the  '  Speaker's 
Commentary.'  '  Many  commentators  defend  Ehud's  action  in  stabbing 
Eglon  on  the  ground  of  his  having  a  direct  command  from  Almighty 
God  to  do  so,  which,  they  would  argue,  justified  the  action  in  the 
same  way  as  the  execution  of  a  legal  sentence  is  justified  by  the 
authority  of  a  State.  But  this  is  in  every  sense  most  unsafe  and  un- 
warrantable ground  to  take.  The  true  solution  of  the  difficulty  seems 
to  lie  in  distinguishing  between  two  wholly  distinct  things — God's 
providential  government  of  the  world  and  God's  moral  law.  God 
providentially  brings  about  His  own  purposes  by  the  good  actions  of 
men,  by  their  bad  actions,  and  by  actions  of  all  the  various  shades 
between  good  and  bad  (Gen.  xxvii.  9,  10,  etc. ;  1.  20 ;  Acts  ii.  23). 
But  this  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  right  or  wrong  of  such 
actions.  That  is  decided  solely  by  God's  immutable  moral  law.  In 
judging,  however,  of  the  nature  of  an  action  in  its  relation  to  the 
agent,  there  are  many  considerations  which  must  greatly  modify  our 
judgment.  Acts  of  violence  or  cunning,  for  instance,  done  in  an 
age  when  the  whole  human  society  applauded  such  acts,  when  the 
best  men  of  the  age  thought  them  right,  and  when  men  were  obliged 
to  take  the  law  into  their  own  hands  in  self-defence,  is  a  very  different 
thing  from  the  same  acts  done  in  an  age  when  the  enlightened  con- 

2 2 


20       HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

science  of  men  generally  condemn  them,  and  when  the  law  of  the 
land  and  the  law  of  nations  give  individuals  adequate  security.  The 

application  of  these   principles  to   Ehud's  history  is  obvious 

We  can  admire  Ehud's  faith  and  courage  and  patriotism  without  being 
blind  to  those  defective  views  of  moral  right  which  made  him  and 
his  countrymen  glory  in  an  act  which  in  the  light  of  Christianity  is  a 
crime.  It  is  remarkable  that  neither  Ehud  nor  Jael  are  in  St.  Paul's 
list  in  Heb.  xi.  32.' 

It  is  interesting  to  find  Ehud's  act  almost  precisely  repeated  in 
modern  history.  LEstoile,  quoted  by  Guizot  in  his  '  History  of 
France,'  tells  of  the  assassination  of  Henry  III.  of  France  by  the 
Dominican  monk  Jacques  Clement,  who  had  provided  himself  with  a 
commission  from  a  friend  of  the  King.  'On  Tuesday,  Aug.  i,  at 
•8  a.m.,  the  King  was  told  that  a  monk  desired  to  speak  with  him. 
The  King  ordered  him  to  be  admitted.  The  monk  entered,  having 
in  his  sleeve  a  knife,  unsheathed.  He  made  a  profound  reverence  to 
the  King,  who  had  just  got  up,  and  had  nothing  but  a  dressing-gown 
on,  and  presented  him  despatches  from  the  Count  de  Brienne,  saying 
that  he  had  further  orders  to  tell  the  King  privately  something  of  im- 
portance. Then  the  King  ordered  those  who  were  present  to  retire, 
and  began  reading  the  letter.  The  monk,  seeing  his  attention  en- 
gaged, drew  his  knife  from  his  sleeve,  and  drove  it  right  into  the 
King's  small  gut,  below  the  navel,  so  home  that  he  left  the  knife  in 
the  hole.' 

Elisha's  Practical  Joke. 

2  KINGS  vi.  19  :  'And  Elisha  said  unto  them,  This  is  not  the  way,  neither  is 
this  the  city  :  follow  me,  and  I  will  bring  you  to  the  man  whom  ye  seek.' 

Difficulty. —  Was  not  such  practical  joking  quite  unworthy  of  a 
prophet  of  the  Lord ;  and  in  carrying  it  out  did  not  ElisJia  speak 
untruthfully! 

Explanation. — Mattheiv  Henry  gives  the  best  suggestion  towards 
the  true  estimate  of  this  incident.  He  says  :  '  They  thought  to  make 
a  prey  of  him  ;  but  he  made  fools  of  them,  perfectly  played  with  them, 
so  far  was  he  from  fearing  them  or  any  damage  by  them.'  Under 
certain  circumstances  playfulness  may  be  the  best  spirit  in  which  to 
meet  a  difficulty.  Nothing  gives  confidence,  and  removes  fear  in 
time  of  danger,  like  the  cheerful,  merry  spirit.  That  is  one  of  the 
lessons  taught  us  by  the  career  of  Samson,  who  lived  at  a  time 
when  the  Philistines  were  crushing  the  very  heart  out  of  the  people 
of  Israel.  Samson  helped  them  to  laugh  at  the  Philistines,  on  whom 


ELISHA' S  PR  A  CTICAL  JOKE.  2 1 

lie  played  tricks,  and  the  laugh  relieves  fear.  In  much  the  same 
way  the  King  of  Israel  was  at  this  time  fearing  the  Syrians,  and 
Elisha  did  an  important  thing  by  turning  the  laugh  upon  them. 
Witnessing  for  Jehovah,  it  was  needful  that  he  should  show  his 
absolute  confidence  in  the  Divine  defence.  He  could  not  show  it 
more  effectually  than  by  actually  playing  with  the  army  which  had 
come  to  take  his  life. 

The  incident  may  be  further  explained  from  another  point  of  view. 
The  King  of  Syria  had  been  trying  stratagems,  so  Elisha  only  pays 
him  back  with  his  own  coin,  and  wins  the  triumph  over  him  by 
adopting  his  own  methods.  The  King  of  Syria  planned  secret 
ambush  again  and  again,  but  of  his  schemes  Elisha  duly  informed 
the  King  of  Israel.  Then  the  Syrian  sent  secretly  to  spy  out  where 
Elisha  was,  and  having  found  his  temporary  lodging,  by  a  swift  night- 
march  surrounded  the  place,  and  thought  to  seize  his  person.  It 
was  a  trick.  It  might  well  have  caused  fear :  it  did  in  the  case  of 
the  servant.  Elisha  met  stratagem  by  stratagem ;  instead  of  waiting 
for  the  army  to  seize  him,  he  went  boldly  out  to  them,  as  if  he  were 
the  head  man  of  the  village,  told  them  they  had  come  to  the  wrong 
place,  and  he  would  guide  them  to  the  man  whom  they  sought. 

The  untruthfulness  of  Elisha's  words  can  only  be  excused  by  the 
universally  recognised  permissions  of  a  state  of  war.  Efforts  have 
indeed  been  made  to  show  that  Elisha  kept  within  the  bounds  of 
strict  truth ;  that  his  home  was  not  at  Dothan,  but  at  Samaria,  to 
which  place  he  led  the  army.  It  is  better,  however,  to  accept  the 
narrative  as  it  stands,  without  such  questionable  explanations. 
•  Untruth  has  been  held  by  all  moralists  to  be  justifiable  towards  a 
oublic  enemy.  Where  we  have  a  right  to  kill,  much  more  have  we 
i  right  to  deceive  by  stratagem.' 

Apart  from  the  miraculous  feature  of  the  story — the  strange  delusion 
vhich  came  over  the  Syrians,  like  a  mental  blindness — we  can 
Mainly  see  that  they  were  outwitted ;  and  the  playful  manner  in  which 
:his  was  done  was  in  harmony  with  the  homely  spirit  of  Elisha,  and 
effective  in  removing  from  the  nation  all  fear  of  its  irritating  and 
[uarrelsome  neighbour.  The  narrative  also  helps  us  to  realize  the 
/ery  important  truth,  that  God  is  never  limited  in  His  methods;  He 
:an  save  by  many  or  by  few ;  in  stern  ways  of  destruction,  or  in 
ighter  ways  of  playful  stratagem,  if  so  He  pleases.  'Nothing  is  too 
lard  for  the  Lord.' 


22        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


The  Gibeonite  Wiliness. 

JOSHUA  ix.  3,  4  :  '  But  when  the  inhabitants  of  Gibeon  heard  what  Joshua  had 
•done  unto  Jericho,  and  to  Ai,  they  also  did  work  wilily,  and  went  and  made  as  if 
they  had  been  ambassadors.' 

Question. — How  was  it  that  Joshua  was  deceived  with  such  a  very 
transparent  device^  and  acted  with  so  little  consideration! 

Answer. — Because  he  trusted  to  his  own  judgment,  and  did  not 
seek  counsel  from  God.  The  lesson  of  the  narrative  is  precisely  this 
— that  even  the  man  of  God  is  weak  when  he  '  follows  the  devices 
and  desires  of  his  own  heart,'  and  fails  from  that  constant,  immediate, 
and  direct  reference  of  all  things  to  God  which  is  the  essential 
characteristic  of  his  life.  Joshua  had  to  learn,  by  a  humiliating  ex- 
perience, the  very  lesson  which  our  Lord  taught  His  disciples  : 
*  Without  Me  ye  can  do  nothing.' 

It  seems  that  the  '  situation  and  character  of  Gibeon  placed  it  in 
an  exceptional  position.  Planted  at  the  head  of  the  Pass  of  Beth- 
horon,  and  immediately  opposite  the  opening  of  the  Pass  of  Ai,  it  would 
have  been  the  next  prey  on  which  the  Israelite  host  would  have 
sprung.  Their  device  is  full  of  a  quaint  humour  which  marks  its 
antiquity.' 

Thomson,  the  author  of  '  Land  and  Book,'  writes  thus  about  this 
incident :  *  Gibeon  is  situated  on  an  isolated  and  rocky  hill  of 
moderate  elevation,  with  plains,  valleys,  and  higher  mountains  all 
around  it.  Remains  of  ancient  buildings,  tombs,  and  quarries  in- 
dicate a  large  and  important  city These  old  Gibeonites  did 

indeed  "  work  wilily  "  with  Joshua.  Nothing  could  be  better  calcu- 
lated to  deceive  than  their  devices.  I  have  often  thought  that  their 
ambassadors,  as  described  in  the  narrative,  furnish  one  of  the  finest 
groups  imaginable  for  a  painter ;  with  their  old  sacks  on  their  poor 
asses,  their  wine-bottles  of  goat-skin,  patched  and  shrivelled  up  in 
the  sun,  old,  rent,  and  bound  up  ;  old  shoes  and  clouted  upon  their 
feet ;  old  garments,  ragged  and  bedraggled,  with  bread  dry  and 
mouldy — the  very  picture  of  an  over-travelled  and  wearied  caravan 
from  a  great  distance.  It  is  impossible  to  transfer  to  paper  the 
ludicrous  appearance  of  such  a  company.  No  wonder  that,  having 
tasted  their  mouldy  victuals,  and  looked  upon  their  soiled  and  travel- 
worn  costume,  Joshua  and  the  elders  were  deceived,  especially  as 
they  did  not  wait  to  ask  counsel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lord.' 

It  is  quite  possible  that  the  stratagem  by  which  Joshua  seized  Ai 
suggested  to  the  Gibeonites  their  device.  They  resolved  to  meet 


THE  MISSION  OF  THE  CANAANITES.  23 

craft  with  craft.  Joshua  played  with  dangerous  weapons.  Others 
could  use  them  against  him,  and  we  may  well  suppose  that  the 
bitter  humiliation  which  came  from  the  deception  of  these  Gibeonites 
made  him  resolve  henceforward  to  use  only  straightforward  agencies. 
The  expression  used  in  the  Hebrew  is  *  they,  too,  did  work  wilily,' 
as  if  they  had  designedly  imitated  Joshua's  own  method. 


The  Mission  of  the  Canaanites  left  in  the  Land. 

JUDGES  ii.  21,  22  :  'I  also  will  not  henceforth  drive  out  any  from  before  them 
of  the  nations  which  Joshua  left  when  he  died  ;  that  by  them  I  may  prove  Israel, 
whether  they  will  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord  to  walk  therein,  as  their  fathers  did 
keep  it,  or  not.' 

Difficulty. — Surely  this  decision  of  God's  provides  the  Israelites 
with  a  reasonable  excuse  for  their  subsequent  idolatries.  They  might 
fairly  plead  that  their  God  had  determined  to  leave  temptation  and  evil 
in  their  midst. 

Explanation. — There  is  scarcely  any  subject  which  is  so  difficult 
to  state  with  precision  and  clearness  as  that  of  the  possibility  of 
God's  changing  His  plans  and  methods  of  working.  Yet,  if  He  is 
to  adjust  His  dealings  to  men  of  variable  wills  it  is  plain  that  a  course 
of  action  resolved  on  in  view  of  one  set  of  men's  circumstances  must 
be  altered  if  those  circumstances  are  altered.  We  do  not  see  that 
adjustments  of  decisions  and  plans  in  our  family  life  involve  any  un- 
truthfulness  or  uncertainty  or  untrustworthiness  in  parents  ;  we  rather 
look  upon  such  readjustments  as  signs  of  parental  wisdom.  The 
Divine  foreknowledge  can  make  no  real  difference.  Whatever  God 
may  absolutely  know,  His  conduct  at  any  given  time  must  be  regulated 
by  the  circumstances  of  the  time. 

The  Israelites,  therefore,  would  have  no  right  to  excuse  themselves 
or  their  idolatries  and  corruptions  by  the  plea  that  God  had  changed 
His  plans  in  relation  to  them,  and  the  new  plans  had  put  them  under 
serious  disability,  unless  they  could  show  that  they  had  never  changed 
towards  Him.  If  they  had  so  changed,  then  the  new  conditions 
might  be  no  more  than  wise  and  necessary  readjustments. 

The  whole  force  of  the  narrative  goes  to  the  urging  of  the  fact  that 
Israel  had  changed  first,  and  because  there  were  new  conditions  there 
must  be  new  arrangements. 

That  the  new  relations  were  both  wise  and  necessary  can  be 
readily  shown.  The  allegiance  of  the  people  to  Jehovah  had  become 
a  matter  of  uncertainty.  Their  profession  of  allegiance  remained, 
indeed,  what  it  had  been ;  but  the  expression  of  that  allegiance,  in 


24        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

obedience  to  the  Divine  commands,  was,  to  say  the  least,  rendered 
very  doubtful.  But  it  must  be  settled;  and  settled  not  by  words 
uttered  under  the  excitements  of  a  great  national  assembly,  but  by 
the  Divine  observation  of  the  conduct  and  the  spirit  of  daily  life. 
Then  there  must  be  testing.  Testing  can  only  come  through  tempta- 
tion to  evil.  Evil  and  good  must  be  plainly  put  before  men,  and 
their  decision  must  be  demanded.  This  may,  however,  be  one 
single  great  act  of  decision  or  a  continued  series  of  acts.  In  this 
particular  case  God  required  a  series  of  testings ;  and,  by  leaving 
the  idolatrous  Canaanites  in  close  daily  association  with  Israel,  put 
evil  and  good  before  the  people,  asking  their  daily  decision  which  they 
would  choose. 

If  the  allegiance  of  moral  beings,  who  have  once  fallen,  is  to  be 
efficiently  tested,  it  can  only  be  by  the  actual  presence  of  temptation 
to  evil,  which  compels  a  constant  moral  decision.  It  is  the  further 
mystery  of  the  Divine  wisdom  that  what  is  designed  as  a  test  may 
become  the  instrument  of  Divine  punishment,  and  so  the  vindication 
of  the  Divine  claims. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  adds  another  thought.  *  God  in  His  mercy 
overrules  evil  for  good.  He  commanded  the  Israelites  to  root  out 
the  Canaanites.  Israel  disobeyed  the  command ;  and  God's  next 
purpose  is,  that  good  may  be  derived  by  Israel  from  them,  that  the 
faith,  patience,  and  steadfastness  of  Israel  may  be  tried  and  exercised 
by  them,  arid  so  may  receive  a  reward.' 

Abraham's  Prevarication. 

GENESIS  xii.  11-13  :  '  Say,  I  pray  thee,  thou  art  my  sister  :  that  it  may  be  \vell 
with  me  for  thy  sake,  and  that  my  soul  may  live  because  of  thee.' 

Question. — Can  such  an  incident  be  recorded  in  Scripture  for  our 
imitation  ? 

Answer. — It  is  too  easily  assumed  that  what  has  been  preserved 
in  the  Bible  concerning  the  actions  of  good  men  must  all  be  good  ; 
and  so  very  unworthy  efforts  have  been  made  to  explain  or  to  excuse 
what  can  neither  be  explained  nor  excused,  but  must  be  accepted  as 
failures  and  faults.  We  do  not  expect  living  good  men  to  show  a 
record  absolutely  free  from  blame  ;  and  we  need  look  for  no  faultless 
stories  concerning  the  good  that  are  dead.  A  man  may  be  an 
example  in  many  things,  and  a  warning  in  some  things.  Scripture 
histories  are  truthful  records  :  they  differ  from  common  histories  and 
biographies  in  having  a  distinctly  moral  intent ;  so  they  do  not  slur 
over  or  hide  moral  failings,  but  present  them,  assuming  that  we  have 


ABRAHAM'S  PREVARICATION.  25 

standards  by  which  all  incidents  and  actions  must  be  appraised.  In 
Holy  Scripture  we  plainly  see  that  the  '  best  men  are  but  men-  at  the 
best.'  Old  Testament  saints  are  compassed  by  infirmity,  and  are 
foils  that  set  off  the  unique  glory  of  the  Man,  Christ  Jesus,  who  was 
*  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and  separate  from  sinners.'  We  are  not, 
therefore,  called  upon  to  approve  of  the  conduct  of  Abraham  in  this 
instance,  if  it  offends  the  sense  of  the  truthful  and  the  trustful  which 
has  been  given  us  by  the  regenerating  Spirit. 

The  sin  of  Abraham  appears  to  have  been  a  failure  in  that  very 
"aith  for  which  he  is  so  specially  commended.  He  had  not  confi- 
dence in  God  that  He  would  preserve  both  himself  and  Sarah  from 
:he  perils  to  which  they  would  be  exposed  by  going  among  the 
icentious  Egyptians.  Because  his  trust  failed  him,  he  was  set  upon 
:rafty  devices,  and  out  of  the  shame  they  brought  him  learned 
mother  lesson  of  faith. 

But  Abraham's  conduct  is  not  usually  judged  with  fairness  and 
competency  of  knowledge.  It  is  readily  assumed  that  he  hit  upon 
his  deception  hastily,  under  pressure  of  fear;  but  chapter  xx.  13  shows 
hat  Abraham  made  a  definite  arrangement  with  Sarah,  when  they 
eft  Haran  together,  that  in  this  way  they  would  meet  the  perils 
diich  Sarah's  unusual  beauty  might  place  them  in.  On  two  occa- 
ions  the  scheme  was  tried,  but  exactly  how  it  appeared  to  Abraham 
nd  his  wife  the  wisest  plan  to  adopt  only  a  better  knowledge  than 
^e  have  of  the  sentiments  and  customs  of  the  age  could  explain 
D  us. 

Kitto  gives  some  help.  It  appears  that  an  Eastern  king  may  take 
ossession  of  the  sisters  or  daughters  of  a  subject  at  his  pleasure, 
burning  handsome  presents  as  dowries  for  them.  The  persons  so 
iken  would  undergo  a  process  of  purification  in  the  harem,  which 
sually  lasted  for  some  months  (see  Esther  ii.  12).  But  to  take  a 
lan's  wife  from  him  against  his  will  would  be  such  an  outrage  as 
/en  the  Oriental  habit  of  submission  to  despotic  authority  would 
ot  long  endure. 

Abraham's  device  seems  to  have  been  intended  merely  to  gain 
me.  Such  was  the  beauty  of  Sarah  that  there  was  grave  reason  to 

ar  the  report  of  her  would  at  once  reach  the  king  of  any  country 
i  which  they  might  sojourn,  and,  with  :* high-handed  tyranny, 

braham's  life  might  be  taken  for  her  sake.  Letting  her  go  to  the 
irem  as  his  sister  involved  no  immediate  risk  for  her,  and  gave  him 
ne  to  take  measures  for  securing  her  return  to  him. 

'  In  this  practical  difficulty  Abraham's  faith  failed.  He  fell  back 
pon  "devices,"  and  lost  his  trust.  The  man  who  is  consciously  in 


26        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Divine  hands  need  not  plan  and  plot,  need  not  devise  and 
equivocate ;  he  may  simply  follow  the  Divine  lead  with  assurance 
of  perfect  safety. ' 

Craft  is  the  weak  side  of  the  strong  Abrahamic  race ;  the  evil  into 
which  their  characteristic  quality  runs.  Their  caution  and  skill  in 
retaining  what  they  possess,  which  makes  the  Jews  good  bankers  and 
money-lenders,  made  them  suitable  for  the  Divine  purpose  as  de- 
positaries of  the  primary  religious  truths,  and  their  conservators  until 
the  fulness  of  times  should  come.  But  caution  easily  degenerates 
into  craft  and  guile.  In  Abraham  we  find  traces  of  the  evil  which 
comes  out  prominently  in  Jacob. 

'  Such  a  mixture  of  faith  and  weakness,  of  trust  in  God  in  abandon- 
ing so  much  and  trust  in  worldly  policy  for  preservation  in  a  foreseen 
danger,  cannot  but  make  us  feel  how  much  of  infirmity  there  was  in 
a  character  otherwise  so  noble.' 

The  '  Speaker's  Commentary '  draws  this  conclusion :  '  We  see  in 
the  conduct  of  Abram  an  instance  of  one  under  the  influence  of 
deep  religious  feeling  and  true  faith  in  God,  but  yet  with  a  conscience 
imperfectly  enlightened  as  to  many  moral  duties,  and  when  leaning 
to  his  own  understanding  suffered  to  fall  into  great  error  and  sin. 
The  candour  of  the  historian  is  shown  by  his  exhibiting  in  such 
strong  relief  the  dissimulation  of  Abram  as  contrasted  with  the 
straightforward  intregrity  of  Pharaoh.' 

Some  effort  has  been  made  to  give  undue  value  to  the  fact  that 
what  Abraham  wished  said  was  absolutely  true.  This  indeed  was 
the  patriarch's  own  excuse.  Sarah  was  his  half-sister.  But  we 
must  not  blind  ourselves  to  the  fact  that  he  intended  to  deceive ;  wher 
he  said,  'she  is  my  sister,'  he  distinctly  meant  them  to  understanc 
'  she  is  not  my  wife.'  It  was  a  case  of  untruth  fulness,  not  by  th( 
assertion  of  what  is  false,  but  by  the  concealing  of  what  is  true,  S( 
as  designedly  to  leave  a  false  impression. 

The  Entire  Destruction  of  the  Canaanite  Population 

JOSHUA  viii.  26-28  :  '  For  Joshua  drew  not  back  his  hand,  wherewith  h 
stretched  out  the  javelin,  until  he  had  utterly  destroyed  all  the  inhabitants  of  A 
....  So  Joshua  burnt  Ai,  and  made  it  an  heap  for  ever,  even  a  desolation,  unt 
this  day.' 

Question. — Is  not  such  terrible  sternness  in  strange  contradiction  i 
the  mercy  inculcated  elsewhere  in  the  Bible>  and  even  to  the  instincts  i 
nature  ? 

Answer. — A  reasonable,  calm,  and  careful  consideration  of  th 
subject  will  lead  us  in  three  directions.  It  must  be  first  asked,  wh; 


DESTRUCTION  OF  CANAANITE  POPULATION.      27 

were  the  prevailing  customs  of  the  time  in  relation  to  conquered 
countries  ?  Then  it  may  be  shown  that  the  national  condition  of  the 
Canaanites  called  for  an  overwhelming  national  judgment.  And  the 
outworking  of  Jehovah's  purpose  concerning  His  people  necessitated 
the  cleansing  of  the  land  they  occupied  from  all  idolatrous  associa- 
.ions. 

On  the  first  point,  it  may  suffice  to  observe  that  the  killing  of  all 
.he  men,  or  even  of  all  the  population,  of  a  conquered  town  was  the 
:ommon  practice  in  war.  On  the  '  Moabite  Stone,'  for  instance, 
King  Mesha  says  :  '  I  fought  against  the  city  (Ataroth,  of  the  tribe  of 
Jad),  and  took  it,  and  slaughtered  all  the  men,  to  please  Chemosh,  the 
,rod  of  Moab.'  '  I  took  the  town  Nebo  (from  Israel),  and  put  to 
he  sword  all  its  inhabitants,  seven  chiefs  of  the  tribes  ....  the 
vcmen  and  the  children  ;  for  Chemosh  had  uttered  a  curse  against 
t.'  It  might  even  be  urged  that  Joshua's  immediate  slaughter  of  the 
)eople  was  merciful  in  view  of  the  prevailing  customs  of  the  age.  The 
bllowing  is  taken  from  a  boastful  inscription  recording  the  deeds  of 
he  Assyrian  King,  Assur-Nasir-Pal,  who  reigned  from  B.C.  885  to 
;.c.  860  : 

'  They  brought  me  word 
That  the  city  of  Suri  had  revolted  .... 
Chariots  and  army  I  collected.     From  the  rebellious  nobles 
I  stripped  off  their  skin  and  made  them  into  a  trophy. 
Some  I  left  in  the  middle  of  the  pile  to  decay ; 
Some  I  impaled  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  on  stakes. 
I  flayed  many  within  view  of  my  land,  and 
Arranged  their  skins  on  the  walls. 
I  brought  Ahiyababa  to  Nineveh.     I  flayed  him  and 
Fastened  his  skin  to  the  wall.' 

How  directly  the  estimate  formed  of  actions  done  in  war-times  de- 
ends  on  the  public  sentiments  prevailing  at  the  time  may  be  brought 
ome  to  those  who  are  fifty  or  sixty  years  of  age,  if  they  recall  the 
npressions  they  had  in  early  life  of  the  terrible  scenes  of  siege  and 
attle  in  India  and  in  Spain,  and  contrast  the  very  different  sen- 
ments  with  which  they  now  read  the  siege  of  Badajoz,  the  conquest 
f  Mexico,  or  the  horrors  of  warfare  in  India.  Dr.  Geikie  well  says  : 
The  humanity  of  our  day  has  been  attained  only  by  the  develop- 
lent  of  right  feelings  through  thousands  of  years,  and  implies  a  public 
mtiment  which  the  world  in  Joshua's  days,  and  for  ages  after,  was 
holly  unable  to  comprehend  or  accept.' 

But  we  can  regard  this  destruction  of  the  Canaanite  population 
om  higher  standpoints.  It  is  necessary,  however,  for  us  to  keep 
;ry  clearly  before  us  the  distinction  between  the  Divine  judgment  on 
dividuals  for  their  personal  sins  and  the  Divine  judgment  on  public 


28        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

bodies  for  corporate  sins,  and  on  nations  for  national  sins.  Judgments 
on  nations  as  such  must  take  national  forms,  and  must  be  wrought 
out  by  such  agencies  as  depressed  trade,  drought,  famine,  pestilence, 
or  war — things  that  affect  masses  of  men,  and  not  merely  isolated  in- 
dividuals or  families. 

It  will  be  freely  admitted  that  the  Canaanit.e  nations  might  come 
into  Divine  judgment ;  that  such  judgment  might  decree  their 
extermination ;  that  the  agency  employed  might  be  an  invading 
army ;  and  that  this  invading  army  might  be  the  Israelite  one.  The 
Canaanites  were  themselves  only  sojourners  on  the  soil  of  Palestine. 
They  only  held  it  for  a  while  during  good  behaviour.  And  the 
only  question  which  really  needs  to  be  settled  is  this:  Have  we  sufficient 
evidence  that  the  '  iniquity  of  the  Canaanites  was  full,'  and  that 
therefore  judgment  must  take  so  severe  a  shape,  and  could  be  no 
longer  delayed  ? 

As  proof  that  this  was  their  condition  we  have  the  very  remarkable 
fact  that  a  premonitory  warning  had  been  given  to  the  Canaanites 
more  than  four  hundred  years  previously,  in  the  utter  destruction  of 
the  Cities  of  the  Plain.  There,  under  specially  favourable  circum- 
stances, the  horrible  vices  and  corruptions  of  the  Canaanites  had 
reached  a  ripeness  which  made  further  delay  of  judgment  impossible. 
After  those  four  hundred  years  had  passed  the  condition  of  the 
Canaanite  population  had  become,  in  daring  and  utterly  abominable 
iniquity,  what  Sodom  had  been.  Apart,  therefore,  from  any  con- 
sideration of  the  precise  agency  used,  the  utter  destruction  of  the 
corrupt  nation  was  the  inevitable  judgment  of  God.  Jericho,  the 
first  city  utterly  destroyed,  was  the  local  seat  of  the  worship  of 
Ashtoreth,  the  consort  of  Baal,  its  very  name  meaning  the  City  ol 
the  Moon,  which  was  the  symbol  of  that  goddess.  Hence  it 
represented  all  that  was  foulest  and  most  revolting  in  the  heathenisrr 
of  the  Canaanites.  '  The  heathenism  of  Palestine  and  Syria  was  sc 
foul  and  degrading  in  every  sense,  that  there  is  no  state,  even  al 
this  time,  which  would  not  put  it  down,  if  necessary,  by  the  severesi 
penalties.  Its  spread  to  Rome  was  bewailed  1500  years  later  b) 
the  satirists  of  the  day  as  a  calamity  marking  the  utter  decay  of  the 
times.' 

The  other  consideration  almost  requires  a  treatise.  The  descen 
dants  of  Abraham  had  been  selected  by  God  to  preserve  in  the  work 
the  first  and  foundation-truths  of  the  Unity,  Purity,  and  Spirituality 
of  God.  It  was  therefore  necessary  that  He  should  aid  them  ir 
preserving  these  truths  by  surrounding  them  with  all  possible  helpfu 
circumstances,  by  removing  from  them  all  mischievous  and  imperil 


DESTRUCTION  OF  CANAANITE  POPULATION.     29 

ling  influences.  His  design  was  to  cleanse  Palestine  of  all  its 
idolatries,  idolatrous  symbols  and  relics,  and  of  all  its  corrupt  people, 
so  as  to  provide  a  cleansed  land,  in  which  His  people  might  safely 
Iwdl. 

Now  the  preservation  of  these  foundation-truths  was  for  the  whole 
vorld's  sake,  through  all  the  ages  ;  and  from  this  point  of  view  it 
eems  but  a  very  small  thing  that  these  mere  sections  of  the 
Danaanite  race  should  be  sacrificed  for  the  whole  world's  good. 
7rom  one  point  of  view,  they  were  righteously  judged  for  their 
lational  abominations.  From  another  point  of  view,  they  were 
acrificed  to  the  permanent  and  eternal  well-being  of  the  whole 
mman  race. 

The  Israelites  failed  to  carry  out  fully  the  Divine  purpose.  They 
^ft  relics  of  Canaanite  idolatries  and  immoralities  in  the  land, 
nd  the  result  of  their  neglect  brings  plainly  to  view  the  wisdom 
nd  necessity  for  the  wholesale  destruction  which  had  been  com- 
manded. 

The  highest  'mercy'  often  has  to  take  form  as  'judgment.7 
Also  unto  Thee,  O  Lord,  belongeth  mercy:  for  Thou  renderest  to 
very  man  according  to  his  work.'  (Psalm  Ixii.  12.) 

Jephthah's  Vow,  and  its  Fulfilment. 

JUDGES  xi.  30,  31,  34-40  :  '  Whatsoever  cometh  forth  of  the  doors  of  my  house 
meet  me,  when  I  return  in  peace  from  the  children  of  Ammon,  it  shall  be  the 
ord's,  and  I  will  offer  it  up  for  a  burnt  offering." 

Difficulty. — Did  Jephthah  really  offer  up  his  daughter,  and  must 
c  conceive  of  God  as  accepting  such  a  sacrifice  T 

Explanation. — Two  views  of  this  incident  have  been  taken; 
ese,  with  their  reasons,  may  be  first  stated,  and  then  a  solution 
lich  may  be  regarded  as  satisfactory  can  be  presented. 
Dr.  Hewlett  takes  the  view  that  Jephthah  did  not  slay  his  daughter 

sacrifice,  but  that  he  separated  her  from  her  usual  intercourse 
th  human  society,  and  consecrated  her  wholly  to  the  service  of 
xl.  This  conclusion  rests  upon  a  special  reading  of  verse  31  : 
'hus  shall  it  be,  that  that  which  cometh  forth  of  the  doors  of  my 
use  to  meet  me,  when  I  return  in  peace  from  the  children  of 
nmon,  shall  be  to  the  Lord,  andJI  will  offer  Him  a  burnt  offering.' 
.-ad  in  this  way,  the  suggestion  is  that  the  vow  of  Jephthah  included 
D  acts  :  the  first  that  of  devoting  the  favourite  and  trusty  servant, 

o  might  come  out  to  meet  him,  or  even  his  only,  his  beloved 
;ld  to  the  service  of  the  Lord ;  and  the  second,  that  of  offering  a 


30        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

burnt-offering  as  a  thanksgiving,  as  the  law  provided  in  such  circum- 
stances (Lev.  vii.  12-16).  The  conclusion  further  rests  on  the 
consideration  that  human  sacrifices  were  forbidden  by  the  law :  alsc 
on  the  fact  that  Jephthah  could  have  gained  relief  from  a  singular  01 
rash  vow  by  the  payment  of  a  fine  (Lev.  xxvii.  1-4).  And  Dr.  Hew 
lett  thinks  the  custom  of  the  daughters  of  Israel  was,  four  times  t 
year  to  go  and  converse  with  the  daughter  of  Jephthah  the  Gil 
eadite. 

What  has  recently  become  known  concerning  human  sacrifices  ii 
the  earlier  times  adds  much  strength  to  the  arguments  of  those  whc 
on  the  other  hand,  think  Jephthah  actually  offered  his  daughter  as 
burnt  offering.     Dr.  Kitto,  after  carefully  weighing  all  that  can  b 
said   on   either  side,   comes  to   the   following  conclusion  :  '  Wher 
therefore,  we  are  told  that  '  Jephthah  did  with  his  daughter  accorc 
ing  to  his  vow,'  we,  in  full  recollection  of  all  the  ingenious  explani 
tions  which  have  been  produced,  and  which  we  regret  that  our  spac 
does  not  allow  us  to  examine,  see  no  alternative  but  to  conclud< 
although  we  would  gladly  avail  ourselves  of  any  fair  ground  of  escaj 
from  that  conclusion,  that  he  offered  her  up  in  sacrifice.     This  is  tf 
sense  conveyed  by  the  ancient  versions,  and  by  the  text  of  our  ow 
It  is  also  the  statement  of  Josephus,  though  he  is  prone  to  extenua 
or  suppress  that  which  he  holds  to  be  not  for  the  honour   of  r 
nation ;  while,   at  the  same  time,  he  considers  it  as  a   deplorab 
mistaken  and  unlawful  act. 

Stanley  and  Ewald  support  the  idea  of  a  literal  burnt  offerir 
The  latter  says :  *  The  Gileadite  hero,  in  the  fervour  of  his  wra 
against   the   Ammonite  king  and   his  zeal   for   Israel,   had   vow 
to  sacrifice  to  Jahveh  whatever  on  his  victorious  return  should  fi 
meet  him  from  his  own  house.     His  thought  was  probably  of  a  he 
of  cattle,  or  at  most  of  slaves  :  not  that  his  young  daughter  and  01 
child  would  be  the  first  to  meet  him.     But,  on  his  prosperous  reti 
to  Mizpah,  forth  comes  his  daughter  first  from  his  house,  leading  1 
maidens   of  the  city  with  dance  and  song,  in   celebration   of  • 
victory.     Fearfully  is  avenged  upon  the  father  and  ruler  the  thoug 
less  vow  of  the  soldier  of  a  brutalized  age.     No  Levite  or  other  s; 
arises  to  give  a  different  direction  to  his  conscientious  resolve,  fo 
is  evident  that  his  contemporaries,  also  trained  to  barbarism,  c 
sidered  the  precious  sacrifice  to  be  appointed  by  a  higher  necessit) 
fall  for  the  sins  of  the  fatherland.     And  when  such  a  belief  perva 
even  the  best,  the  courage  which  shrinks  not  from  acting  or  suffei 
in  obedience  to  it  must  be  accounted  greatness  of  soul  j  and  equ 
so  on  both  sides,     Even  so  it  is  here.     Not  without  bitter  grief, 


JEPHTHAH1  S  VOW  AND  ITS  FULFILMENT.       31 

ill  of  resolve,  and  proud  that  she  should  be  the  sacrifice  demanded 
y  Jahveh  to  save  her  country,  this  worthy  daughter  of  a  hero,  after 
ewailing  her  virginity  for  two  months  on  the  mountains  among  her 
:>mpanions,  accepts  the  sacrificial  death  from  the  hands  of  her  own 
ther,  who  in  her  sacrifices  all  that  is  dearest  to  him.' 
The  'Iliad'  of  Homer  has  a  story  helpfully  like  this  of  Jephthah. 
iomeneus,  of  Crete,  purchased  from  Poseidon  a  prosperous  home- 
ard  voyage  by  the  vow  to  oblige  and  sacrifice  to  him  whatever  should 
•st  meet  him  in  his  own  land.  He  was  consequently  obliged  to 
crifice  his  own  son,  but  was  punished  by  the  gods  with  a  plague, 
id  by  his  fellow-citizens  with  banishment. 

The  most  recent  study  of  Jephthah  is  by  Van  Lennep,  and  this  is 

interesting  and  suggestive,  that  it  may  be  given  in  full.     *  Many  of 

e  ancient   heathen   offered  human   victims  to  their  gods.      The 

icenicians  and  the  Moabites  burned  their  children  to  Moloch,  and 

e  Hebrews  repeatedly  fell  into  this  form  of  idolatry  (Jer.  xxxii.  35  ; 

:ek.    xx.    31).      Even   the   polished   Greeks   were   very   anciently 

dieted  to  the  same  superstition.     These  cruel  rites  have  long  ago 

^appeared  from  the  lands  of  the   Bible ;  but   mementos   of  the 

actice  are  occasionally  met  with.     Such  is  a  part  of  the  ceremony 

letting  the  water  of  the  Nile  into  the  canals.     The  Arabic  history 

Ben  Ayas  contains  the  following  incident,  which  has  probably  some 

indation  in  truth  : — The  Muslim  conqueror  of  Egypt,  Amroo,  was 

ced  permission  by  the  people  of  that  country,  at  the  time  of  the 

ing  of  the  Nile,  to  propitiate  the  river  by  the  offering  of  a  human 

:rifice  ;  for,  said  they,  "  It  is  our  custom  on  the  i3th  of  the  month 

ooneh  (June  yth)  to  select  a  young  and  handsome  virgin;  we 

•ry  her  away  by  force  from  her  parents,  and  throw  her  into  the  Nile 

the  spot  consecrated  to  this  ceremony."     Amroo  forbade  the  cruel 

i,  and,  instead  of  the  virgin,  cast  into  the  Nile  a  paper,  on  which 

:  Caliph  Omar  had  written  a  prayer  to  God  to  furnish  the  water  of 

river. 

Human  sacrifices,  indeed,  still  exist;  but  they  are  mostly  confined 
the  interior  of  Africa,  whose  climate  and  deserts  render  it  difficult 
access  to  the  influence  of  civilization.  The  existence  of  human 
rifices  is  recognised  in  the  Pentateuch  by  the  provision  made  for 
ngular  vows,"  which  required  the  commission  of  murder.  In  all 
es  of  this  nature,  money  was  to  be  paid  instead,  according  to  age 
I  sex.  The  story  of  Jephthah  and  his  daughter  shows  how  great 
asion  existed  for  such  a  law.  The  Israelite  hero  was  evidently 
orant  of  the  legal  provision  made  to  meet  his  case.  He  lived  in 
very  region — east  of  the  Jordan — where  human  sacrifices  were 


32         HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

most  common,  and  where  Moloch  was  the  ruling  Deity.  Jephthal 
was  a  freebooter,  a  highway  robber ;  he  had  neither  priest  no; 
prophet  to  guide  him.  His  daughter  herself  was  ready  to  die  "  For 
asmuch  as  the  Lord  had  taken  vengeance  upon  his  enemies,  even  th( 
children  of  Ammon."  And  so,  after  two  months'  delay,  "  he  did  witl 
her  according  to  his  vow."  His  family  perished ;  for  she  was  hi 
only  child,  and  "  had  known  no  man."  The  extraordinary  characte 
of  the  occurrence  produced  a  deep  impression  upon  the  Israelites 
which  was  maintained  by  the  yearly  celebration  of  the  day.  I 
became  a  warning  to  the  Hebrews  against  rash  vows  ;  and  yet  sue 
an  immolation  of  a  daughter  is  far  better  than  the  heathen  practice  c 
giving  her  up  to  the  obscene  service  of  the  idol  temple,  or  even  t 
the  seclusion  of  a  convent,  Christian  only  in  name.' 

In  further  illustration  of  the  view,  that  Jephthah  actually  orTere 
his  daughter  as  a  sacrifice,  Bishop  Hervey,  in  the  '  Speaker's  Commei 
tary,'  adds,  *  If  the  words,   "  shall  surely  be  the  Lord's,"  had  stoc 
alone,  Jephthah's  vow  might  have  been  understood  like  Hannah's 
But  the  words  which  follow  preclude  any  other  meaning  than  th; 
Jephthah  contemplated  a  human  sacrifice.     This  need  not,  howeve 
surprise  us,  when  we  recollect  his  Syrian  birth  and  long  resideru 
in  a  Syrian  city,  where  such  fierce  rites  were  probably  common.     Tt 
Syrians  and  Phoenicians  were  conspicuous  among  the  ancient  heathe 
nations  for  human  sacrifices.     Porphyry,  quoted  by  Eusebius,  sayf 
1  The  Phoenicians,   in  all  great  emergencies  of  war,  or  famine,   < 
drought,  used  to  designate  by  vote  one  of  their  nearest  and  deare 
as  a  sacrifice  to  Saturn ;  and  their  descendants,  the  Carthaginiar 
sacrificed   their  finest   children   to  the  same   god.'     Eusebius  al 
mentions  the  annual  sacrifice  of  a  virgin  to  Minerva  at  Laodicea 
Syria.     In  2  Kings  iii.  27  there  is  a  notable  example  in  the  saorifi. 
of  his  eldest  son  by  the  king  ofMoab,  Gregory  Nazianzen  accuses  ti 
Emperor  Julian  of  offering  human  sacrifices,  and  throwing  the  bodi 
into  the  Orontes  in  Syria.     The  worship  of  *  the  gods  of  Syria  and  t 
gods    of  Zidon  is  mentioned  in  Jud.  x.  6  as  prevalent  among  t 
Israelites  at  this  time  ;  and  the  transfer,  under  such  circumstances, 
Jehovah  of  the  rite  with  which  the  false  gods  were  honoured  is  ji 
what  one  might  expect.     The  circumstance  of  the  spirit  of  the  Lc 
coming   on  Jephthah  (verse  29)  is  no  difficulty,  as  it  by  no  mes 
follows  that  because  the  Spirit  of  God  endued  him  with  supernatu 
valour  and  energy  for  vanquishing  the  Ammonites,  He  therefore  a 
endued  him  with  spiritual  knowledge  and  wisdom.' 

The   arguments   in   favour  of  an  actual   sacrifice  decidedly  p 
ponderate.     The  other  explanation  could  only  have  been  suggest 


JEPHTHAHS  VOW,  AND  ITS  FULFILMENT.       33 

by  a  desire  to  relieve  the  Bible  of  even  a  seeming  approval  of  human 
sacrifice.  But  the  Scriptures  give  us  truthful  records,  without  imply- 
ng  the  commendation  of  what  is  recorded.  No  hint  is  given  of  the 
Divine  acceptance  of  this  dreadful  burnt  offering,  or  of  Jephthah 
hrough  it.  There  is  nothing  to  commend  in  Jephthah  save  the 
ternness  of  his  zeal,  the  vigour  of  his  energy,  and  his  firmness  in 
:eeping  to  his  word. 

It  is  fatal  to  the  idea  that  the  daughter  was  separated  to  the  service 
•f  Jehovah,  that  no  hint  of  such  female  dedications  is  given  in 
•cripture,  and  no  provision  for  such  persons  was  made  in  the  Mosaic 
conomy.  Such  a  notion  could  never  have  entered  Jephthah's  head. 
We  have  no  instance  of  females  being  devoted  to  celibacy ;  and  if 
lis  girl  were  so  devoted,  she  needed  not  to  ask  delay  in  order  to 
ewail  her  lot.'  Matthew  Henry  remarks  that  'probably  the  reason 
•hy  it  is  left  dubious  by  the  inspired  penman  whether  he  sacrificed 
er  or  no  was  that  those  who  did  afterwards  offer  their  children  might 
ot  take  any  encouragement  from  this  instance.'  Dean  Stanley  with 

keener  sympathy,  cleverly  remarks  :  '  Then  comes  the  awful  end, 
om  which  the  sacred  writer,  as  it  were,  averts  his  eyes.  "  He  did 
ith  her  according  to  his  vow."  In  her  the  house  of  Jephthah 
ecame  extinct.' 

The  Prophetic  Curse  on  the  Site  of  Jericho. 

JOSHUA  vi.  26  :  *  And  Joshua  charged  them  with  an  oath  at  that  time,  saying, 
irsed  be  the  man  before  the  Lord,  that  riseth  up  and  buildeth  this  city  Jericho  : 
th  the  loss  of  his  firstborn  shall  he  lay  the  foundation  thereof,  and  with  the  loss 
his  youngest  son  shall  he  set  up  the  gates  of  it '  (Rev,  Ver.}. 

Difficulty. — Is  not  such  a  curse  on  a  mere  thing  or  place  an 
pression  of  human  vengeance,  on  which  we  cannot  suppose  the  Divine 
proval  to  rest  ? 

Explanation. — Seeing  we  are  taught  by  signs,  symbols,  and 
^nts,  as  well  as  by  written  or  spoken  words,  we  may  recognise  that 
>d  uses  such  signs  and  events  for  His  gracious  purposes.  Our 
rd  sealed  the  Divine  approval  of  teaching  by  events  when  He 
•sed  the  fig-tree,  which  was  a  symbol  of  the  hypocrite.  If  the  city 
Jericho  was  the  representative  or  symbol  of  something,  then  the 
vine  dealing  with  it  may  have  been  the.holding  forth  of  some  truth, 
the  permanent  good  of  passing  generations  ;  and  this  appears  to  be 
;  explanation  of  the  remarkable  curse.  Jericho,  as  the  first  city  of 
naan  taken  by  the  Israelites,  was  made  a  representative  for  ever  of 
;  judgment  that  must  always  come  upon  those  who  live  in  defiance 
God,  and  in  self-willed  corruption  of  life.  The  bare  site  of  Jericho 

3 


34        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

was  for  ages  to  impress  this  lesson  :  l  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  living  God.' 

Kitto  says  :  '  This  course,  of  making  a  monument  of  a  conquered 
and  destroyed  city  or  building,  by  solemnly  interdicting  the  restora- 
tion thereof,  has  not  a  few  parallels  in  ancient  history.  Thus  the 
Romans  made  a  decree  full  of  execration  against  any  who  should  dare 
at  any  future  time  to  rebuild  Carthage,  which  had  been  their  rival  in 
empire,  and  the  situation  of  which  was  so  advantageous  as  to  create 
the  fear  that  it  might  be  restored.  Similar  imprecations  were 
pronounced  by  Agamemnon  against  such  as  should  rebuild  Troy,  anc 
by  Croesus  against  those  who  should  restore  Sidene,  "  according  tc 
ancient  custom,"  says  Strabo,  by  whom  the  fact  is  reported.' 

The  '  Speaker's  Commentary  '  has  a  suggestion  intended  to  meet  th( 
difficulty  that  Jericho  seems  to  have  been  inhabited  soon  after  its  de 
struction  ;  and  it  shows  that  the  idea  of  a  new  city  having  been  buil 
near,  but  not  exactly  on,  the  old  site  is  a  mere  imagination.  The  '  Com 
mentary '  says  that  the  word  translated  *  buildeth '  is  one  distinctly 
meaning  'buildeth  the  fortifications,'  and  with  this  as  its  eviden 
meaning  the  word  is  repeatedly  used  in  the  Moabite  inscription 
*  Joshua  then  speaks  in  the  text  as  a  warrior.  He  lays  a  ban  on  th 
re-erection  of  those  lofty  walls,  which  had  bidden  defiance  to  God' 
host,  and  been  by  God's  signal  interposition  overthrown.  The  plaii 
import  of  i  Kings  xvi.  34  is,  that  Kiel,  the  Bethelite,  reckless  of  th 
prophecy  recorded  in  our  text,  began  and  completed  the  circumvalk 
tion  of  the  city  a  second  time.  It  is  obvious  that  Hiel  did  not  foun 
a  new  city,  but  only  fortified  an  existing  one.' 

Joshua  himself  gave  Jericho  to  the  Benjamites,  and  it  was  inhabite' 
in  the  time  of  the  Judges  (see  Jud.  iii.  13^2  Sam.  x.  5). 


Uzzah's  Sin  and  Judgment. 

2  SAMUEL  vi.  6,  7  :  '  And  when  they  came  to  the  threshing-floor  of  Naco 
Uzzah  put  forth  his  hand  to  the  ark  of  God,  and  took  hold  of  it ;  for  the  ox( 
stumbled.  And  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Uzzah,  and  God  smo 
him  there  for  his  error ;  and  there  he  died  by  the  ark  of  God '  {Rev.  Ver. ). 

Difficulty. —  Uzzah  evidently  meant  well ;  how  is  it  that  God  d, 
not  recognise  and  accept  his  good  intentions  ? 

Explanation. — God  may  be  pleased  to  teach  other  men  ii 
pressive  lessons  through  His  providential  dealings  with  individua 
What  happens  to  a  man  may  be  vicarious.  Though  in  measu 
related  to  his  sin,  its  explanation  may  be  found  rather  in  the  influen- 
exerted  on  others  as  a  warning.  This  we  can  see,  and  readily  adm 


UZZAH' S  SIN  AND  JUDGMENT.  35 

n  relation  to  punishments  that  stop  short  of  death  ;  but  the  irremedi- 
.ble  character  of  death  creates  difficulty.  A  man  may  seem  to  be 
lestroyed  for  the  sake  of  others. 

Our  age  has  lost  the  impressive  sense  of  God's  absolute  right  in 
tian,  which  was  a  characteristic  of  Eastern  and  Hebrew  thought. 
^he  right  of  kings  to  the  property  and  life  of  their  subjects  was 
ransferred  to  God  ;  and  it  was  understood  that  man  must  be  ready 
o  serve  God  in  death  as  well  as  in  life. 

The  sin  for  which  Uzzah  died  was  David's ;  and  Uzzah  was  a 
icarious  sufferer.  He  died  to  awaken  David  to  the  importance  of 
*act  obedience  to  God's  injunctions.  He  was  an  example  of  dis- 
bedience  in  touching  the  Ark,  for  which  the  stumbling  of  the  oxen 
eemed  a  good  excuse.  The  example,  and  the  judgment  following, 
pened  David's  eyes  to  see  his  disobedience  in  putting  the  Ark  on  a 
art,  when  God  had  commanded  that  it  should  only  be  carried  on  the 
loulders  of  the  Levites. 

God  did  recognise  the  good  intentions  of  Uzzah,  and  we  must 
learly  distinguish  between  the  temporal  judgment  on  his  failing  in 
^remonial  obedience,  and  the  eternal  judgment  which  comes  on 
ilful^sin.  But  it  was  important  that  a  solemn,  impressive  lesson 
lould  at  this  time  be  learned,  to  the  effect  that  good  intentions  can 
ever  excuse  failures  in  obedience.  Man  may  persuade  himself  that 
>me  way  which  he  devises  is  better  than  God's  way  for  him ;  but  it 
in  never  be  accepted  :  man  must  simply  obey.  Come  what  may — 
t  the  Ark  fall — still  Uzzah  must  not  touch  it.  So  regarded,  Uzzah's 
idden*death  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  Bible  teachings  on  the 
scessity  for  exact  obedience — a  lesson  which  we  need  quite  as  much 
David  did. 

Dr.  Edersheim  says :  '  The  arrangements  which  David  had  made 
r  the  transport  of  the  Ark  differed  in  one  most  important  particular 
Dm  those  which  God  had  originally  prescribed.  According  to 
od's  ordinance  (Numb,  iv.)  the  Ark  was  only  to  be  handled  by  the 
svites — for  symbolical  reasons — nor  was  any  other  even  to  touch  it 
lumb.  iv.  15).  Moreover,  the  Levites  were  to  carry  it  on  their 
oulders,  and  not  to  place  it  in  a  waggon.  But  the  arrangements 
lich  David  had  made  for  the  transport  of  the  Ark  were  those  of  the 
athen  Philistines  when  they  restored  it  to  Israel  (i  Sam.  vi.  7),  not 
ose  of  the  Divine  ordinance.  If  such  was  the  case  on  the  part  of 
e  king,  we  can  scarcely  wonder  at  the  want  of  reverence  on  the 
rt  of  the  people.  It  was  a  question  of  the  safe  transport  of  a  sacred 
ssel,  not  of  the  reverent  handling  of  the  very  symbol  of  the  Divine 
2sence.' 

3—2 


36        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Kitto  says  :  '  It  was  necessary,  for  His  own  honour,  for  the  welfan 
of  His  people,  and  for  the  integrity  of  the  institutions  He  had  com 
mitted  to  them,  that  the  Lord  should  rigidly  exact  a  proper  am 
ordained  reverence  for  the  sacred  symbols.  If  at  all  necessary 
there  was  never  an  occasion  in  which  it  could  be  more  so  than  on  thi 
great  public  solemnity.' 

Bishop  Sanderson  has  a  very  valuable  note  :  *  This  inadvertency  o 
Uzzah,  notwithstanding  the  innocence  of  his  intention,  brought  dowi 
the  Divine  vengeance  on  his  head,  which  struck  him  with  presen 
death,  before  the  whole  assembly  of  the  people,  as  the  punishment  o 
his  presumption.  And  by  this  severe  stroke  upon  the  first  violater  o 
the  law,  God  impressed  a  dread  upon  the  hearts  of  men,  and  gave  ; 
sanction  to  His  commands  that  no  man  should  attempt,  upon  an_ 
pretence  whatever,  to  act  in  defiance  of  His  law,  or  boldly  to  dispens 
with  what  God  has  established.' 

Samson's  Sensuality. 

JUDGES  xvi.  I  :  '  And  Samson  went  to  Gaza,  and  saw  there  an  harlot,  and  wer 
in  unto  her.' 

Question. — Can  we  suppose  that  the  things  Samson  did  met  wit 
the  Divine  approval  ? 

Answer. — No  hint  of  any  such  approval  is  given  in  the  Scriptur 
records,  and  no  such  approval  is  implied  in  the  fact  that  successe 
were  permitted  to  attend  his  extraordinary  adventures. 

Attention  needs  to  be  often  drawn  to  the  fact,  that  the  Divine  a] 
probation  of  a  man  does  not  involve  the  favourable  regard  of  ever 
action  of  the  man,  or  of  every  event  in  the  man's  life.  In  these  da) 
we  frequently  find  marked  genius  associated  with  marked  frailtie 
Men  who  are  remarkable  for  mental,  poetical,  or  artistic  gifts  ai 
sometimes  morally  weak,  and  the  weakness  not  seldom  takes  the  fon 
of  unrestrained  passion  and  sensual  indulgence.  Humanity  finds,  ho^ 
ever,  no  difficulty  in  recognising  and  accepting  the  fruits  of  tf 
poetical  genius  of  Byron  and  Shelley,  while  it  expresses  the  uttermo 
disgust  at  the  moral  looseness  of  both  these  men.  And  we  can  we 
understand  that  God  can  accept  the  faithfully^ used  physical  strengt 
of  Samson,  withoutjany  kind  of  approval  of  his  sensuality. 

There  is  this  further  to  be  said  :  In  estimating  all  persons  wl 
occupy  public  positions  in  God's  service,  we  must  distinguish  betwet 
their  official  and  their  personal  goodness.  A  man  may  be  a  goc 
servant,  but  a  bad  man  ;  a  good  officer,  but  evil  in  private  life.  Ar 
in  Scripture  we  find  some  men  are  set  before  us  for  imitation  of  the 


SAMSON'S  SENSUALITY.  37 

>ersonal  virtues,  while  others  are  only  to  be  imitated  so  far  as  they 
.•xecuted  with  earnestness  and  skill  some  public  duty.  The  mission 
>f  Samson  is  difficult  to  understand,  but  it  is  quite  clear  that  he  is 
:ommended  only  for  the  public  and  national  influence  for  good  which 
ie  exerted. 

The  notion  commonly  entertained  that  men  of  unusual  bodily 
ize  are  usually  also  unduly  strong  in  bodily  passion,  has  been  fixed 
Dr  us  in  the  nursery  tale  of  the  Giant  Blue  Beard.  Sensuality 
eems  to  have  been  the  imperilling  side  of  Samson's  great  bodily 
trength. 

It  is  curious  to  notice  that  Samson's  great  deeds  are  more  or  less 

irectly  connected  with  his  sensual  practices ;  and  when  we  observe 

is  story  carefully  we  find  that  he  did  not  deliver  Israel,  or  even 

ttempt  to  deliver  it.     There  is  nothing  patriotic  about  his  deeds  of 

rowess ;  all  is  strictly  personal,  and  much  of  what  is  told  us  belongs 

)  the  'revengeful.'     Perhaps  Samson's  life  and  mission  are  only  to 

e  explained  as  we  realize  the  abject  and  hopeless  condition  of  the 

jraelites  in  his  time.     Their  arms  had  been  taken  away  ;  Philistines 

eely  overran  the  country,  and  the  two  nations  seenuin  a  sense  to 

ive  blended.     All  hope  had  faded  out  of  the  souls  of  the  Israelites  • 

lere  was  the  quiet  gloom  of  a  settled  despair  over  all  the  land. 

It  is  only  said  that  Samson  '  began  to  deliver  Israel ;'  and  his  work 

:ems  to  have  been  to  lift  up  the  national  spirit  by  raising  the  laugh 

jainst  the  Philistine  enemy.    Perhaps  the  coarseness  and  the  practical 

king  which  were  so  characteristic  of  him  were  just  the  thing  to 

ake  the  Israelites   despise   their   enemy.      Samson's  wild  pranks 

Duld  be  talked  over,  and  laughed  over,  at  every  evening  meal,  and  a 

icerier  and  more  hopeful  spirit  in  the  people  would  prepare  the  way 

r  future  active  efforts  to  regain  the  national  liberty.     There  have 

:en  times  in  the  history  of  all  nations  when  wit,  satire,  ballad,  and 

en  practical  joking,  have  been  the  first  agencies  in  national  revival. 

3d,  who  overrules  the  wrath  of  man,  has  been  pleased  to  overrule 

e  playfulness  of  men.     Only  we  require  to  see  that  the  use  of  such 

ings  as  public  forces  in  no  way  involves  the  Divine  acceptance  of 

e  persons  who  put  forth  those  various  powers. 

In  support  of  this  line  of  explanation  two  or  three  trustworthy 

:imates  of  Samson's  character  and  mission  are  given. 

Dealing  with  the  fact  that  Samson  accomplished  so  little  in  con- 

ction  with  the  national  deliverance,  Kit  to  says  :  '  This  can  only  be 

counted  for  by  his  great  destinies  having  been  marred  by  his  vices 

d  indiscretions,  which  incapacitated  him  from  acting  efficiently  as 

i  leader  of  the  people.     It  seems  to  us  that  the  people  were  com- 


38       HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

pletely  justified  in  withholding  their  confidence  from  him.  A  mere 
slave  of  the  senses  like  him,  who  could  repeatedly  sacrifice  or  en 
danger  the  most  important  interests  to  a  woman's  sigh,  was  not  one 
into  whose  hands  the  elders  and  warriors  of  Israel  could  entrust  theii 
lives  and  fortunes.  He  has  left  a  name  which  is  at  once  a  mirack 
and  a  byword,  a  glory  and  a  shame.' 

Referring  to  his  being  the  first  Nazarite,  Dean  Stanley  says  :  '  It  is 
one  of  the  many  distinctions  between  the  manners  of  the  East  anc 
West,  between  ancient  and  modern  forms  of  religious  feeling,  that  the 
Jewish  chief  whose  position  most  nearly  resembles  that  of  the  foundei 
of  a  monastic  order  should  be  the  most  frolicsome,  irregular,  unculti 
vated  creature  that  the  nation  ever  produced.  Not  only  was  celibac) 
no  part  of  his  Nazarite  obligations,  but  not  even  purity  of  life.  He 
was  full  of  the  spirits  and  the  pranks,  no  less  than  of  the  strength,  o 
a  giant.' 

Ewald  makes  the  following  very  searching  remarks  on  the  probabl( 
influence  on  Samson  of  the  vow :  '  So  long  as  the  vow  is  only  a  sacree 
force  constraining  the  soul  from  without,  it  can  never  have  full  free 
dom  of  action  and  development,  but  must  rather  relax  in  one  direc 
tion  the  powers  which  in  another  are  unnaturally  strained.  Samsor 
keeps  his  vow  of  abstinence  from  intoxication,  but  is  all  the  weake 
and  wilder  with  regard  to  the  love  of  woman,  as  if  he  could  hen 
make  up  for  the  want  of  freedom  elsewhere  ;  and  by  a  singular  spor 
of  chance,  or  rather  by  the  secret  revenge  of  a  heart  warped  by  th< 
vow,  his  love  is  always  excited  by  women  of  that  very  race  which  th< 
vow  urges  him  to  combat  with  all  the  might  of  his  arm,  and  01 
whose  men  the  weight  of  his  iron  strength  always  falls  at  the  righ 
time.' 

Jealousy  as  ascribed  to  God. 

'ExODUS  xx.  5  :  *  For  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquit 
of  the  fathers  upon  the  children,  upon  the  third  and  upon  the  fourth  generation  < 
them  that  hate  me.' 

Difficulty. — Do  not  our  associations  with  the  word  '•jealous '  mal 
it  altogether  an  unsuitable  word  to  apply  to  God  ? 

Answer. — The  word  '  jealous '  is  used  in  two  closely  related,  bu 
very  distinct,  senses.  In  the  one  sense  it  means  suspicion,  appreher 
sive  of  rivalship ;  uneasy  under  the  fear  that  another  may  or  ha 
engaged  the  affections  of  one  whom  we  love.  This  is  our  mo$ 
familiar  association  with  the  word,  but  in  these  senses  it  cannc 
possibly  be  applied  to  God. 

The  other  shade  of  meaning  may  be  expressed  by  the  terms  '  cage 


JEALOUSY  AS  ASCRIBED  TO  GOD.  39 


Dr  anxious  for  one's  rights  or  claims;  hence,  watchful,  vigilant; 
'  solicitous  for  the  name  or  character  of ;'  *  vindicating  the  honour 
of.'  In  this  sense  the  word  may  be  applied  to  God. 

If  the  necessity  for  what  is  called  anthropomorphism  and  anthropo- 
pathism,  or  the  revelation  of  God  to  man,  under  the  figures  of  man's 
actions  and  feelings,  were  better  understood,  we  should  be  able  to 
admit  that  natural  feelings,  which  in  man  may  be  both  right  and 
wrong,  may,  in  their  right  forms,  be  applied  to  God ;  and  then  we 
should  have  no  difficulty  in  fixing  proper  associations  with  the  word 
jealous  '  when  we  applied  it  to  God. 

*  Anthropomorphic  expressions  are  those  which  attribute  to  the 
Creator  the  bodily  faculties  of  man ;  and  anthropopathic  are  those 
which  attribute  to  the  Infinite  Spirit  the  mental  affections  and 
mssions  of  man.  In  one  case  God  is  spoken  of  as  having  eyes,  as 
nclining  His  ear,  as  stretching  forth  His  arm,  as  uttering  His  voice, 
md  sometimes  as  shouting  (Jer.  xxv.  30)  or  blowing  a  trumpet 
Zech.  ix.  14),  also  as  riding  on  a  cherub,  and  flying  upon  the  wings 
)f  the  wind  (Psalm  xviii.  10).  In  the  other  case  He  is  represented 
is  being  jealous,  as  hating,  as  repenting,  as  taking  vengeance, 
:tc.' 

F.  W.  Robertson  says  :  '  Only  through  man  can  God  be  known ; 
>nly  through  a  perfect  man  perfectly  revealed.' 

Woolwrych  says  :  '  In  Numbers  v.  we  read  of  "  a  spirit  of  jealousy  ' 
:oming  upon  a  man  about  his  wife,  and  also  of  an  "offering  of 
ealousy."  This  explains  in  what  sense  God  is  said  to  be  jealous,  the 
ntimate  relation,  corresponding  to  the  marital  one,  between  Him 
md  His  people,  being  referred  to.  The  godly  zelos  with  which  St. 
^aul  was  jealous  over  the  Corinthians  (2  Cor.  xi.  2),  points  in  the 
ame  direction,  and  zelos  is  the  Septuagintal  rendering  of  kinah, 
he  Hebrew  word  alone  translated  "jealousy  "  in  the  Old  Testament.' 

The  point  which  needs  to  be  clearly  apprehended  is,  that  while  the 
erm  *  jealousy  '  commonly  bears  a  bad  meaning,  it  does  not  necessarily 
mply  evil  passion.  It  may  be  right  for  a  man  to  be  jealous.  He 
»ught  to  be  jealous  of  his  treasure,  his  trusts,  his  good  name,  those 
ie  loves,  etc.  Then  we  have  a  right  and  good  meaning  attaching  to 
he  word,  which  may  be  in  our  minds  when  we  apply  it  to  God. 


40        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Jael's  Treachery. 

JUDGES  iv.  17-22  ;  v.  24-27  :  'Blessed  above  women  shall  Jael  be,  the  wife  of 
Heber  the  Kenite.' 

Difficulty. —  Was  notJaeTs  act  in  every  way  dishonourable  and 
disgraceful ;  and  is  it  not  surprising  to  find  that  she  is  so  highly 
praised? 

Explanation. — If  we  were  called  to  estimate  Jael's  conduct  upon 
strictly  human  principles,  ordinary  society  rules  of  right  and  wrong, 
we  should  be  compelled  to  visit  it  with  unqualified  condemnation.  If 
we  judge  it  by  the  laws  of  God,  '  Thou  shalt  do  no  murder,'  '  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,'  we  must  count  her  to  have  been  a 
wicked  woman.  If  we  regard  her  act  in  the  light  of  the  claims  of 
hospitality  recognised  in  her  country,  we  must  call  her  conduct 
treacherous  and  disgraceful.  But  her  act  is  to  be  judged  from  a 
special  point  of  view.  At  that  time  God  was  working  for  the  deliver- 
ance of  His  people,  by  giving  certain  individuals  special  and  sudden 
impulses.  Such  an  impulse  came  upon  Jael.  It  was  a  Divine 
impulse  in  the  sense  of  being  the  providential  way  in  which  Sisera's 
death  was  to  be  secured ;  but  the  manner  in  which  the  thing  was 
done  was  Jael's  own  device,  and  for  it  she  alone  stands  responsible. 
No  Divine  directions  came  to  her  as  to  the  method  in  which  the 
slaughter  was  to  be  effected.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  recognising  the 
Divine  hand  in  the  death  of  Sisera.  No  difficulty  in  admitting  that 
God  may  use  a  woman  for  effecting  the  death,  as  He  used  Deborah 
for  inciting  to  the  battle.  The  details  of  Jael's  plan  breathe  the 
spirit  of  an  age  with  whose  violence  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
sympathise. 

The  praise  given  to  Jael  is  purely  patriotic ;  it  indicates  the 
national  sentiment  about  her  act,  but  it  in  no  way  carries  any  Divine 
approval  of  her  methods.  Bad  men  and  bad  women  may  serve  the 
Divine  purposes  ;  good  men  and  good  women  may  work  out  the 
Divine  plan  in  wilful  and  unworthy  ways.  It  should  be  understood 
that  God  overrules  and  uses  what  we  should  never  expect  Him  to 
approve;  just  as,  still,  a  country  often  benefits  from  the  results 
of  conduct,  on  the  part  of  her  soldiers  and  statesmen,  of  which  she 
cannot  possibly  approve.  Jael,  following  a  Divine  impulse,  became 
the  executor  of  God's  judgment  on  Sisera.  Jael  did  her  work  in  a 
way  which  seems  to  us  needlessly  cruel  and  wicked. 

This  line  of  explanation  is  taken  by  Dr.  Waterland :  *  It  can 
scarcely  be  doubted  that  Jael  had  some  Divine  direction  or  impulse 


JAELS  TREACHERY.  41 


o  stir  her  up  to  do  what  she  did.  The  enterprise  was  exceedingly 
x)ld  and  hazardous  ;  and  one  would  think  that,  had  she  been  left  to 
icrself,  she  would  have  been  content  to  let  Sisera  lie  there,  till  Barak, 
vho  was  then  pursuing  him,  should  come  up  and  surprise  him.  The 
esolution  she  took  has  the  marks  of  being  from  the  extraordinary 
land  of  God.  In  this  view  all  is  right ;  and  the  objector  will  not  be 
ible  to  prove  that  there  was  any  treachery  in  it.  We  ought  to  obey 
jod  rather  than  man ;  and  all  obligations  to  man  cease  when 
>rought  into  competition  with  our  higher  obligations  towards 
k)d.' 

It  would  be  a  dangerous  doctrine  to  advance  nowadays,  that  we 
yere  to  follow  all  inward  impulses,  and  recognise  them  as  coming 
rom  God.  In  Jael's  days,  when  revelation  was  incomplete,  God  did 
vork  in  that  method ;  but  now  we  have  the  written  Word  and  the 
ndwelling  Spirit,  and  must  not  trust  ourselves  to  the  control  of 
m  pulses. 

Van  Lennep  notes  that  Jael  was  a  Kenite,  belonging  to  a  nomadic 
ribe,  and  had  wandered  into  Canaan.  He  says  :  '  The  Arab  is 
•assionate,  and  under  the  influence  of  anger  or  hatred  will  sometimes 
reak  the  laws  of  hospitality,  and  even  trample  upon  the  most  solemn 
aths.' 

Capt.  C.  R.  Conder  makes  a  very  curious  suggestion,  one  to  which 
nly  his  name  could  give  any  reasonableness  or  probability.  '  The 
•ue  reason  for  Jael's  act  is  probably  to  be  sought  in  Sisera's  entering 
le  tent  at  all.  There  are  instances  in  later  history  in  which  a 
efeated  Arab  has  sheltered  himself  in  the  woman's  apartments,  but 
ach  an  infringement  of  Eastern  etiquette  has  always  been  punished 
y  death  :  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  in  revenge  for  such  an  insult 
ael  seized  the  iron  tent-peg,  and  drove  it,  with  the  mallet  used  to 
x  the  tent  to  the  ground,  through  Sisera's  brain.' 

Langjs  account  of  this  incident  forcibly  presents  the  character  of 
le  sudden  impulse  with  which  Jael  was  seized  and  carried  away. 
Between  Heber  the  Kenite  and  Jabin  there  was  peace ;  the 
lenite  therefore  had  not  shared  the  oppression  under  which  Israel 
iffered.  Consequently,  Sisera  could  hope  to  find  in  his  tent  a  little 
ist  from  the  fatigue  of  his  long-continued  exertions.  Securer  still 
as  the  shelter  of  the  woman's  tent.  In  that  of  Heber  he  might  have 
ared  the  violence  of  Barak  ;  the  tent  of  a  woman  no  one  enters  with 
ostile  purpose.  He  seems  first  to  have  made  inquiries.  She  meets 
im  with  friendly  mien,  invites  him  urgently,  and  quiets  his  appre- 
^nsions.  Sisera  is  not  incautious.  He  proceeds  to  ask  her  for 
rink,  pleading  thirst.  She  gives  him  of  her  milk.  It  is  an  ancient 


42        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Oriental  practice,  common  to  all  Bedouins,  Arabs,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  deserts  in  general,  that  whoever  has  eaten  or  drunk  anything  in  the 
tent  is  received  into  the  peace  of  the  house.  The  Arab's  mortal 
enemy  slumbers  securely  in  the  tent  of  his  adversary,  if  he  have 
drunk  with  him.  Hence  Saladin  refuses  to  give  drink  to  the  bold 
Frank  knight,  Reinald  of  Chatillon,  because  he  wishes  to  kill  him. 
Sisera  thinks  that  he  may  now  safely  yield  to  sleep.  Only  he  feels 
that  he  ought  first  to  instruct  Jael  how  to  answer  any  pursuers  thai 
may  come.  How  did  he  deceive  himself!  Sisera  is  made  to  knov\ 
the  demon-like  violence  of  a  woman's  soul,  which,  when  it  breaks 
loose,  knows  no  bounds.  True,  Jabin  is  at  peace  with  Heber.  Bui 
Jael's  race  and  its  history  have  from  time  immemorial  intergrowr 
with  those  of  Israel.  Israel's  freedom  is  her  freedom  ;  Israel's  glor) 
her  glory.  How  many  women  have  been  dishonoured  and  carriec 
away  as  booty  by  Sisera  !  (chap.  v.  30).  Shall  she  be  idle,  when  the 
tyrant  gives  himself  up  into  her  hands  ?  What  if  she  saves  him  i 
Will  it  not  be  treason  on  her  part  against  the  ancient  covenant  witl 
Israel  ?  Will  he  not,  by  virtue  of  his  vigour  and  skill,  collect  fresh 
troops,  and  threaten  Israel  anew  ?  Shall  it  be  said  Jael  saved  the 
enemy  of  the  people  among  whom  she  lived  as  among  brothers,  tc 
their  destruction  ?  The  conflict  in  which  she  finds  herself  is  great 
and  none  but  a  great  and  powerful  soul  could  end  it  as  she  does 
She  will  not  allow  him  to  escape — as  he  will  do,  if  she  refuse  t( 
harbour  him  ;  and  yet,  she  can  harbour  him  only  to  destroy — and  tha 
not  without  doing  violence  to  ancient  popular  custom.  She  make 
her  decision.  She  scorns  the  reward  which  Sisera's  safety  migh 
perhaps  have  brought  her.  She  takes  the  nobler  object  int( 
consideration — the  freedom  of  a  kindred  nation — and  the  older  righ 
preponderates.  A  ruthless  warrior  stands  before  her,  the  violator  of  i 
thousand  laws  of  right,  and  all  hesitation  vanishes.  She  has  m 
sword  with  which  to  hew  the  oppressor  down,  and  seizes  the  terribl< 
weapon  of  womanly  cunning,  before  which  no  law  can  stand 
Besides,  it  has  been  noticed,  even  in  modern  times,  that  in  general  th< 
women  of  those  regions  care  less  about  the  rights  of  hospitality  thai 
the  men.  Burckhardt  in  his  wanderings  had  personal  experience  o 
this.' 

*  Jael  would  be  regarded  as  a  patriotic  heroine,  whose  daring  ha' 
secured  to  Israel  the  fruits  of  their  victory.  The  morals  of  that  earl 
age  were  not  sufficiently  enlightened  to  understand  that  treachery  am 
assassination  are  never  justifiable,  however  good  may  be  the  end  ii 
view.  In  ancient  days  no  close  moral  analysis  was  applied  to  acts  o 
which  the  general  tendency  was  approved  as  right  and  beneficial.' 


DA  VIUS  D  Y1NG  INSTR UC TIONS.  43 


David's  Dying   Instructions. 

i  KINGS  ii.  5-9,  26-46  :  '  Let  not  his  hoar  head  go  down  to  the  grave  in  peace.' 

Question. — Can  any  reasonable  excuse  be  made  for  the  revengeful 
•pirit  manifested  by  David  in  his  last  hours  ? 

Answer. — Judging  David  from  the  Christian  standpoint,  no 
ixcuse  can  be  found  :  we  read  the  records  with  the  utmost  grief  and 
madness.  There  was  nothing  in  the  aged  king  of  the  '  mind  of 
Christ.' 

But  that  is  not  a  fair  standpoint  from  which  to  form  our  judgment. 
:  We  must  not  expect  Gospel  morality  from  the  saints  of  the  Old 
Testament.'  These  last  utterances  are  official,  not  personal,  and  as 
such  must  be  estimated.  David  is  not  a  private  individual  giving 
nstructions  to  his  son,  but  a  king,  an  Eastern  king,  a  theocratic  king, 
giving  instructions  to  his  heir.  It  had  been  a  part  of  his  kingly  duties 
to  act  as  '  avenger '  in  blood-feuds.  When  the  old  tribal  and  Mosaic 
ideas  of  the  Goel,  or  Blood  Avenger,  passed  away,  the  public  magis- 
irate,  who  in  early  times  was  the  king  himself,  took  up  the  avenger's 
duty.  It  should  be  observed  that  David  makes  no  mention  of  the 
iilling  of  Absalom,  because,  though  that  act  was  committed  in  cold 
Dlood,  it  belonged  to  the  time  of  war,  and  so  found  its  excuse.  The 
tilling  of  Abner  and  Amasa  were  deliberate  murders,  and  for  these 
nurders  Joab's  life  was  forfeit.  It  was  David's  public  duty  to 
ivenge  the  slaughtered  men,  and  clear  the  guilt  of  blood  from  the 
and. 

This  kingly  duty,  however,  David  had  neglected.  He  had  not 
iared  to  touch  Joab.  Perhaps,  in  view  of  Joab's  great  services,  he 
lad  given  him  pardon  for  his  life  and  reign ;  but  as  the  protection 
)f  the  old  manslayer  was  limited  to  the  life  of  the  High  Priest,  so 
David's  promise  of  personal  safety  extended  only  to  the  end  of  his 
•eign.  Partly  because  he  felt  he  had  neglected  his  duty,  and  partly 
Because  he  recognised  that  the  guilt  of  blood  would  lie  on  the  land 
ind  call  down  Divine  vengeance,  David  gave  this  charge  to  his  son. 

We  should  not  have  thought  it  strange  if  David  had  ordered  Joab 
o  be  brought  to  trial  for  the  murder  of  Abner  and  Amasa  after  his 
leath,  on  the  ground  that,  as  a  matter  of  clemency,  the  trial  had 
>een  postponed  during  his  reign.  But  what  is  recorded  is  precisely 
he  same  thing,  only  the  Eastern  king  acts  without  any  formal  trial ; 
loes  directly  what  the  process  of  law  now  does. 

These  explanations  will  prepare  the  way  for  the  following  extracts 
:mbcdying  the  opinions  of  well-known  Biblical  writers. 


44        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Dr.  Porter  says  :  'It  seems  to  me  that  for  a  long  period  David 
was  guided  in  his  acts  by  worldly  policy,  rather  than  a  strict  sense  of 
justice.  He  was  more  influenced  by  the  fear  of  man,  and  a  short- 
sighted desire  to  promote  his  own  interests,  than  by  the  glory  of  God, 
and  a  regard  for  that  holy  law  which  He  had  revealed  for  the  govern- 
ment of  His  people.  Blood,  "  innocent  blood,"  had  been  shed.  The 
land  was  polluted  by  it.  According  to  the  theocratic  principle,  the 
guilt  was  chargeable  against  the  land,  and  the  punishment  might  at 
any  moment  be  executed  (see  Num.  xxxv.  31-33).  At  the  close  of 
his  life,  David  was  roused  to  a  sense  of  his  neglect  of  this  imperious 
duty.  The  kingdom  was  in  peril.  Divine  vengeance  was  impending 
over  it.  He  was  then  too  weak  to  carry  out  the  law.  He  was  at 
the  point  of  death  ;  but,  as  the  representative  of  the  Divine  Lawgiver 
and  Judge,  he  pronounced  sentence  upon  the  criminals,  and  charged 
his  heir  and  successor  to  carry  it  out.  In  this  there  was  no  "cold- 
blooded revenge."  There  was  strict,  though  somewhat  tardy, 
justice.' 

Prof.  Ewald  writes  :  '  It  was  said  that,  upon  his  dying  bed,  David 
had  recommended  the  successor  he  had  already  named  not  to  let 
Joab's  grey  hair  descend  unscathed  into  the  underworld,  because  he 
had  taken  base  revenge  on  the  two  great  generals,  Abner  and  Amasa, 
had  shed  the  blood  of  war  in  the  midst  of  peace,  and  had  stained 
himself  over  and  over  with  the  blood  of  the  noble,  "  from  the  girdle 
about  his  loins  to  the  latchet  of  the  shoes  upon  his  feet."  If,  how- 
ever, our  present  customs  render  the  very  notion  of  such  a  commis- 
sion offensive  to  us,  we  must  recollect  that  in  that  primitive  age  of 
the  monarchy,  the  king  possessed  the  power  of  protection  which  had 
formerly  belonged  to  the  sanctuary,  so  that  everyone  whom  he  had 
promised  to  spare  was  secure  of  his  life.  But  we  may  further  re- 
member that  this  right  of  asylum  expired  with  the  king's  death,  as  it 
had  formerly  done  at  the  end  of  the  High  Priest's  life,  and  that  con- 
sequently, if  the  king  had  for  any  reason  pardoned  a  criminal,  this 
personal  forbearance  extended  only  to  the  death  of  this  individual 
king,  and  could  in  no  way  bind  his  successor.  The  actual  undeniable 
guilt  was  regarded  as  still  there,  in  spite  of  a  sovereign's  temporary 
lenity,  so  that  a  new  king  was  not  necessarily  held  to  any  promise  of 
indulgence  made  by  his  predecessor ;  nay,  it  was  rather  esteemed  his 
duty  at  length  to  eradicate  the  uneradicated  guilt,  and  free  his  royal 
house  from  the  obligation  of  punishment.' 

Dr.  Barry  says  :  '  The  charge  as  to  Joab  has  a  certain  righteous- 
ness in  it.  David  could  not — probably  since  Joab's  knowledge  of  his 
great  crime  (in  the  murder  of  Uriah,  the  Hittite)  he  dared  not — 


DA  VWS  D  YING  INSTR  UCTIONS.  45 


)unish  him  as  he  deserved The  more  recent  and  shameful 

nurder  of  Amasa  was  simply  one  of  revenge  and  ambition,  because 
.\masa  had  been  put  in  Joab's  place ;  yet  David,  broken  in  spirit, 
iocs  not  dare  to  blame  it,  and  quietly  acquiesces  in  the  resumption 
}y  Joab  of  the  dignity  conferred  on  the  murdered  man.  That  these 
:rimes  should  be  punished  by  a  king  whose  hands  were  clean,  and 
vho  owed  Joab  nothing,  was  perhaps  just,  certainly  within  the  letter 
)f  the  law ;  though  clemency  might  have  spared  the  old  and  now 
alien  warrior,  who  had  at  least  served  David  ably  with  long  and 
aithful  service.' 

Prof.  Rawlinson  gives  the  following  valuable  note  :  '  David  had 
lever  formally  pardoned  Joab,  and  indeed  it  may  be  questioned 
.vhether  by  the  law  there  was  any  power  of  pardoning  a  murderer 
see  Num.  xxxv.  16-34;  Deut.  xix.  12).  The  utmost  that  the  king 
:ould  do  was  to  neglect  to  enforce  the  law.  Even  in  doing  this 
le  incurred  a  danger.  Unpunished  murder  was  a  pollution  to  the 
and,  and  might  bring  a  judgment  upon  it,  like  the  famine  which  had 
)een  sent  a  few  years  before  this  on  account  of  Saul  and  of  his 
)loody  house,  "because  he  slew  the  Gibeonites  "  (2  Sam.  xxi.  i). 
Dr  the  judgment  might  fall  upon  the  negligent  monarch,  or  his  house, 
is  punishment  fell  on  Eli  and  his  house,  for  not  chastising  the 
vickedness  of  his  sons  (i  Sam.  iii.  13). 

'  The  general  explanation  applies  also  to  the  case  of  Shimei,  whose 
in  was  the  public  one  of  rebellion  ;  he  being  the  head  of  Saul's 
)arty,  and  only  too  likely  to  lead  another  revolt  as  a  new  king  was 
:oming  to  the  throne.  His  treason,  for  which  the  penalty  was  death, 
lad  been  condoned  by  David,  but  the  promise  of  protection  naturally 
:eased  at  the  king's  death.' 

Gideon's  Vengeance. 

JUDGES  viii.  16,  17:  'And  he  took  the  elders  of  the  city,  and  thorns  of  the 
wilderness  and  briers,  and  with  them  he  taught  the  men  of  Succoth.  And  he 
>rake  down  the  tower  of  Penuel,  and  slew  the  men  of  the  city.' 

Question. —  Was  not  the  vengeance  of  Gideon  extravagant ',  un- 
•easonable,  and  beyond  any  justification  from  the  existing  conditions  ? 

Answer. — We  not  unfrequently  find  in  Holy  Scripture  that 
nen  have  gone  beyond  their  Divine  instructions,  and  executed  the 
)ivine  will  in  ways  of  their  own  devising.  The  Divine  approbation 
•ften  rests  on  the  thing  done  when  there  can  be  no  approbation  of 
he  manner  in  which  the  thing  was  done.  In  this  way  such  men  as 
ehu  are  at  once  approved  and  condemned.  It  should  also  be  re- 
lembered  that  in  times  of  victory  national  excitement  is  raised  to  so 


46        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

uncontrollable  a  pitch  that  even  peace-loving  men  are  carried  away 
to  approve  of  violent  and  vengeful  deeds. 

The  execution  of  the  open  enemies  of  Israel  may  be  regarded  as 
fair  by  the  universal  laws  of  war ;  but  Gideon  punished,  in  this  extreme 
way,  those  who  had  only  withheld  succour  from  his  fainting  army,  and 
taunted  him  that  he  was  boasting  before  he  had  won  his  success. 
These  men  of  Succoth  and  Penuel  deserved  some  severe  humiliation  ; 
but  Gideon's  measures  were  extreme  ones,  and  cannot  on  any  principle 
be  commended.  We  can  but  recognise  the  contrast  between  those 
times  of  wild  self-assertion  and  these  times  of  milder  and  nobler 
sentiments,  in  which  we  are  taught  that  *  vengeance  belongeth  unto 
God.' 

Exactly  what  Gideon  did  to  these  people,  who  showed  such  in- 
humanity and  want  of  patriotism,  it  is  very  difficult  for  us  to  under- 
stand from  the  terms  of  the  description.  Possibly,  as  an  example, 
the  elders  of  these  towns  were  scourged  or  threshed,  with  these 
lacerating  thorn  bushes ;  but  the  wording  suggests  that  the  thorns 
and  briers  were  laid  over  the  men,  and  then  harrows  dragged  them 
until  they  tore  the  poor  victims  to  death. 

Archdeacon  Farrar  reminds  us  that  every  man  is  largely  influenced 
by  the  spirit  of  the  age  in  which  he  lives,  and  that  in  the  East  to  this 
day  there  is  a  far  greater  indifference  to  the  value  of  human  life  than 
there  is  in  Europe ;  and  far  greater  insensibility  to  the  infliction  of 
pain.  '  It  was  only  by  slow  degrees  that  (as  we  can  trace  in  the 
writings  of  their  prophets  and  historians)  the  Jews  learned  that  deeper 
sense  of  humanity  which  it  was  certainly  the  object  of  many  precepts 
of  the  Mosaic  law  to  inspire.'  'The  ruthlessness  of  the  punishment 
which  Gideon  threatened  to  inflict  belongs  to  the  wild  times  in  which 
he  lived,  and  the  very  partial  spiritual  enlightenment  of  an  imperfect 
dispensation.  It  is  no  more  to  be  held  up  for  approval  or  imitation 
than  his  subsequent  degeneracy,  while,  at  the  same  time,  Gideon 
must,  of  course,  be  only  judged  by  such  light  as  he  had.' 

Moses'  Marriage  to  an  Ethiopian  Woman. 

NUMBERS  xii.  I  :  *  And  Miriam  and  Aaron  spake  against  Moses  because  of  the 
Cushite  woman  whom  he  had  married  :  for  he  had  married  a  Cushite  woman.' 

Difficulty. — Did  not  Moses  break  his  own  laws  in  thus  marrying 
a  foreigner  ? 

Explanation. — If  we  are  to  understand  that  the  wife  here  referred 
to  is  a  second  one,  distinct  from  the  daughter  of  Jethro,  and  taken 
by  Moses  during  his  first  wife's  life,  he  certainly  broke  his  own  laws. 


MOSES'S  MARRIAGE.  47 


id  set  the  people  a  mischievously  bad  example.  But  there  is  no 
Dod  reason  for  assuming  that  such  a  slur  rests  on  Moses  character, 
'he  Cushite  woman  referred  to  is  the  daughter  of  Jethro,  who,  after 
somewhat  prolonged  absence,  had  recently  been  restored  to  him, 
nd  who  excited  the  jealousy  of  Miriam  and  Aaron  by  limiting  their 
ifluence  with  their  brother. 

When  Moses  married  Jethro's  daughter  he  was  under  ordinary 
ibal  rules  of  marriage,  and  in  no  sense  under  Jewish  rules,  which 
ere  only  revealed  to  him  long  years  afterwards.  Some  tribes  refuse 
>  allow  marriage  outside  the  bounds  of  the  tribe ;  but  other  tribes 
squire  the  wives  to  be  selected  from  related  jribes.  Moses  had  not 
larried  an  Egyptian  woman,  which  might  have  been  regarded  as 
oubtful,  and  likely  to  injure  his  patriotism,  but  a  member  of  a  desert 
ibe,  very  similar  to  that  to  which  he  himself  belonged.  So,  accord- 
ig  to  the  law  and  custom  prevailing  at  the  time,  his  marriage  was 
erfectly  regular. 

The  Authorised  Version  creates  needless  difficulty  by  translating 
i  the  a.bove  verse  '  because  of  the  Ethiopian  woman.'  The  Revised 
"ersion  corrects  this  by  translating  a  Cushite  woman  ;  and  we  know 
lat  there  was  an  Arabian  as  well  as  an  African  Cush.  Jethro'c 
ibe,  dwelling  in  Arabia,  was  properly  classed  as  Cushite. 

As  authorities  for  the  above  explanation  the  following  extracts  are 
iven.  Jamieson  says  :  *  Arabia  was  called  in  Scripture  the  land  of 
'.ush,  because  its  inhabitants  were  descendants  of  that  son  of  Ham. 
'he  occasion  of  this  seditious  outbreak  on  the  part  of  Miriam  and 
aron  against  Moses  was  the  great  change  made  in  the  government 
y  the  seventy  rulers,  and  also  their  irritating  disparagement  of  his 
ife,  who,  in  all  probability,  was  Zipporah,  and  not  a  second  wife  he 
ad  recently  married.  Miriam  and  Aaron  were  jealous  of  Zipporah's 
,'latives,  through  whose  influence  the  innovation  was  first  made.' 

Matthew  Henry ,  in  his  quaint  way,  says  :  *  Others  think  they 
uarrelled  with  Moses  because  of  Zipporah,  whom,  on  this  occasion, 
icy  called  in  scorn  an  Ethiopian  woman,  and  who,  they  insinuated, 
id  too  great  an  influence  upon  Moses  in  the  choice  of  these  seventy 
ders.  Perhaps  there  was  some  private  falling  out  between  Zipporah 
id  Miriam,  which  occasioned  some  hot  words,  and  one  peevish  re 
action  introduced  another,  till  Moses  and  Aaron  came  to  be  in- 
rested.' 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  while  all  the  principal  Biblical 
riters  mention  the  possible  identification  of  Zipporah,  for  the  most 
irt  they  favour  the  idea  of  a  second  wife,  and  Zipporah's  death, 
hey  labour  to  show  that  the  Mosaic  law  prohibited  intermarriage 


48        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

only  with  the  Canaanites,  and  left  the  Israelites  free  to  marry  wit 
the  daughters  of  Moab,  Gush,  or  Ethiopia.  This  will  be  found  di; 
cussed  in  a  paragraph  on  *  Solomon's  Egyptian  Wife.'  The  explanatio 
suggested  above  is  simple  and  natural,  and  fully  meets  all  the  r< 
quirements  of  the  case. 

Samuel  slaying  Agag. 

i  SAMUEL  xv.  33 :  '  And  Samuel  hewed  Agag  in  pieces  before  the  Lord  : 
Gilgal.' 

Question. — How  can  such  a  terrible  act  as  this  be  justified  1 

Answer. — Effort  has  been  made  to  relieve  the  incident  of  som 
of  its  horror  by  assuming  that  Samuel  committed  Agag  to  som 
executioner,  who  carried  out  the  dreadful  sentence  that  Samuel  wt 
commissioned  to  deliver.  But  the  first  impression  left  by  the  recor 
should  be  preserved.  Raised  by  the  excitement  of  the  hour  to  extn 
ordinary  strength,  Samuel  executed  the  Divine  judgment  on  Aga^ 
and  so  carried  home  to  Saul  the  conviction  of  his  sin  in  failing  t 
carry  out  exactly  the  commission  entrusted  to  him. 

Man  is  very  willing  to  obey  God  if  he  may  put  his  own  limitation 
and  qualifications  upon  the  obedience.  But  such  obedience  ca 
never  be  anything  but  an  offence  to  God.  Man  must  obey  God  ju< 
as  God  commands.  Exact,  unquestioning  obedience  is  so  absolute! 
essential  as  the  foundation  of  morals  and  character,  that  even  a  seen 
like  this  of  the  killing  of  Agag  may  be  necessary  to  get  it  fixed  on  th 
mind  of  a  king,  of  a  nation,  and,  through  the  Bible,  of  the  world. 

The  form  of  the  incident  is  painfully  Eastern.  It  belongs  to 
sphere  in  which  human  life  was  imperfectly  valued,  and  in  which  th 
sovereign  rights  of  kings — and,  therefore,  much  more  of  the  King  c 
kings — was  recognised ;  but  we  may  fairly  regard  it  as  the  scrikin 
dramatic  teaching  of  the  all-important  truth,  that  if  man  proposes  t 
obey  God,  he  must  obey  thoroughly  and  precisely. 

Divine  judgment  had  been  given  against  Agag.  Saul,  as  Jehovah 
captain,  was  appointed  agent  for  the  execution  of  the  Divine  decree; 
In  mere  wilfulness  Saul  chose  to  spare  this  condemned  king.  The 
in  the  most  public  and  impressive  way  it  must  be  shown  that  ma 
can  never  successfully  resist  God.  God's  prophet  shall  do  whs 
God's  captain  had  failed  to  do.  We  should  carefully  observe  ths 
Samuel  acted  officially,  and  in  his  terrible  deed  there  is  no  trace  c 
mere  personal  feeling  or  personal  revenge. 

•  The  *  Speaker's  Commentary '  has  the  following  note :  '  Samu( 
thus  executed  the  devotion  which  Saul  had  violated  and  so  bot 


SAMUEL  SLAYING  A  GAG.  49 

saved  the  nation  from  the  guilt  of  a  broken  oath,  and  gave  a  final 
example  to  Saul,  but  apparently  in  vain,  of  uncompromising  obedience 
to  the  commandments  of  God.  There  is  something  awful  in  the 
majesty  of  the  prophet  rising  above  and  eclipsing  that  of  the  king.' 

Kitio,  after  urging  that  Samuel  executed  Agag  himself,  adds  : 
1  Samuel  might  deem  it  an  honour  to  execute  with  his  own  hand  the 
full  judgment  which  had  been  neglected  by  the  man  to  whom  the 
sword  had  been  entrusted.  If  it  be  urged  that  this  act  is  contrary  to 
the  idea  of  Samuel's  character  which  his  previous  history  has  con- 
veyed, the  answer  is,  that  mild  natures  like  his  are  often,  when 
thoroughly  roused  into  high  excitement,  capable  of  stronger  deeds 
than  men  of  habitually  harsher  temper.' 

Dean  Stanley  says  :  '  The  terrible  vengeance  exacted  on  the  fallen 
king  by  Samuel  is  the  measure  of  Saul's  delinquency.  The  ferocious 
form  of  the  offering  of  Agag  belongs  happily  to  an  extinct  dispensa- 
tion. But  its  spirit  reminds  us  of  the  famous  saying  of  Peter  the 
Great,  when  entreated  in  a  mortal  illness  to  secure  the  Divine  mercy 
by  the  pardon  of  some  criminals  condemned  to  death  :  "  Carry  out 
the  sentence.  Heaven  will  be  propitiated  by  this  act  of  justice." ' 


An  Early  Application  of  the  Lex  Talionis. 

JUDGES  i.  6:  'And  Adoni-bezek  said,  Threescore  and  ten  kings,  having  their 
.numbs  and  their  great  toes  cut  off,  gathered  their  meat  under  my  table  :  as  I  have 
lone,  so  God  hath  requited  me.' 

Question. — Is  there  any  ground  for  the  opinion  of  Adoni-bezek^ 
'hat  God  makes  men  suffer  in  the  very  way  in  which  they  have  made 
ither  men  suffer  ? 

Answer. — All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  there  are,  undoubtedly, 
etributive  providences ;  but  no  number  of  such  cases  can  be  col- 
ected  sufficient  to  establish  '  retaliation '  as  an  ordinary  method  of 
Divine  procedure.  When  such  cases  occur,  and  judgment  takes  the 
orm  of  retaliation,  the  attention  of  men  is  arrested,  and  an  undue 
mportance  is  likely  to  be  attached  to  the  incidents.  Men's  love  of 
he  sensational  even  leads  them  to  manufacture  such  cases,  and  force 
ircumstances  to  fit  the  theory  concerning  them  which  they  have 
ishioned.  The  great  majority  of  God's  judgments  are  not  retributive ; 
•ut  He  is  free  to  choose  that  method  if,  in  any  case,  it  can  serve  His 
.igh  moral  purpose,  and  produce,  in  any  given  age,  a  healthy  impres- 
ion  of  the  evil  01  sin. 

Very  few  of  the  cases  of  retribution  which  are  recorded  will  bear  a, 
trict  and  dispassionate  examination.  Facts  are  often  set  in  the  forms 


50        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

and  relations  which  will  serve  to  support  a  preconceived  theory,  and 
their  strictly  truthful  relations  are  kept  out  of  sight.  Science  has 
done  this  great  good  to  morals  and  religion  :  it  has  taught  that  facts 
must  be  carefully  studied  as  facts,  apart  from  the  bias  of  any  theories 
or  doctrines.  Only  when  the  actual  facts  are  known  can  they  be  set 
in  relation  to  existing  doctrine. 

'It  was  an  ethical  maxim,  extensively  accepted  among  ancient 
nations,  that  men  must  suffer  the  same  pains  that  they  have  inflicted 
on  others.  The  later  Greeks  called  this  the  Neoptokmic  Tisis,  from 
the  circumstance  that  Neoptolemus  was  punished  in  the  same  way  in 
which  he  had  sinned.  He  had  murdered  at  the  altar,  and  at  the 
a'ltar  he  was  murdered.  Phaleris  had  roasted  human  beings  in  a 
brazen  bull,  and  the  same  punishment  was  inflicted  on  himself.' 

There  was  nothing  novel  in  the  punishment  inflicted  either  by  or 
upon  Adoni-bezek.  It  was  quite  what  he  would  expect  to  suffer  if 
he  were  defeated  and  taken  prisoner.  Dr.  Farrar  says  :  *  This  kind 
of  punishment  was  not  uncommon  in  ancient  days.  The  cutting  off 
of  the  thumbs  would  prevent  a  man  from  ever  again  drawing  a  bow, 
or  wielding  a  sword.  The  cutting  off  of  his  great  toes  would  deprive 
a  man  of  that  speed  which  was  so  essential  for  an  ancient  warrior, 
that  "  swift-footed  "  is,  in  Homer,  the  normal  epithet  of  Achilles/ 

Retributive  punishments  of  this  kind  are  not  recognised  in  modern 
legislation,  and  Moses  admitted  them  as  a  step  towards  the  modifying 
of  the  terrible  blood  feuds  which  were  characteristic  of  the  early  times 
and  races.  But  it  is  singular  to  notice  how  the  old  sentiment  lingers 
still  in  men's  minds,  so  that  we  have  great  satisfaction  in  hearing  of 
cases  wherein  Providence  deals  the  blow  to  men  which  they  have 
dealt  to  others ;  or,  to  use  the  familiar  expression,  '  a  man  is  hoist 
with  his  own  petard.' 

F.  Jacox  says  :  *  The  early  ballads  of  almost  every  literature  delight 
in  these  retributive  surprises.  So  fond  is  popular  history  of  teaching 
this  sort  of  philosophy  by  examples,  that  examples  to  the  purpose  are 
widely  accepted  which  are  yet  not  historical.' 

Achan's   Family  sharing  in  his  Judgment. 

JOSHUA  vii.  25,  26  :  'And  all  Israel  stoned  him  with  stones  ;  and  they  burned 
them  with  fire,  and  stoned  them  with  stones.  And  they  raised  over  him  a  great 
heap  of  stones,  unto  this  day.' 

Question. — On  what  principles  can  such  sharing  of  the  innocent 
with  the  guilty  in  Divine  judgments  be  explained  and  justified  ? 

Answer. — Some  writers  have  endeavoured  to  relieve  the  narra- 
tive of  its  difficulty  by  arguing  that  only  Achan  himself  and  his 


A  CHAN'S  FAMILY  SHARING  IN  HIS  JUDGMENT.  51 

property  were  destroyed,  and  that  his  family  were  brought  into  the 
valley  only  to  witness  the  impressive  scene.  Adam  Clarke  takes  this 
view,  and  so  does  Geikie.  Two  things  seem  to  support  it:  (i)  The 
grammar  of  the  narrative  is  involved,  and  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish 
precisely  what  was  done  to  him  (Achan)  and  to  them  (his  family,  or, 
perhaps,  only  his  property).  (2)  The  very  distinct  law  laid  down  by 
VIoses  (Deut.  xxiv.  16),  '  The  fathers  shall  not  be  put  to  death  for  the 
Children,  neither  shall  the  children  be  put  to  death  for  the  fathers ; 
:very  man  shall  be  put  to  death  for  his  own  sin.' 

There  seems  to  have  been  some  difference  in  the  mode  of  execu- 

ion,  as  applied  to  Achan  and  to  his  family  ;  in  some  way  the  special 

•.haracter  of  the  guilt  of  Achan  was  indicated,  but  there  is  really  no 

ufficient  ground   for   assuming  that  the  family  was  spared.     Two 

hings  are  decisive  against  that  notion  :  (i)  Phinehas,  pleading  with 

he  Eastern  tribes,  who  were  supposed  to  have  committed  a  trespass 

n  building  their  '  witness-altar,'  said  :  {  Did  not  Achan,  the  son  of 

'erah,  commit  a  trespass  in  the  accursed  thing,  and  wrath  fell  on  all 

he  congregation  of  Israel  ?  and  that  man  perished  not  alone  in  his 

liquity.'     It  is  clear  that  the  point  of  this  pleading  is  lost  if  Achan 

id  not  drag  down  his  family  with  him  in  his  destruction  (Josh. 

xii.  20).     And  (2)  in  a  most  significant  way  the  line  of  Carmi  is 

.opped  with  Achan  (or  Achar)  in  the  list  given  in  i  Chron.  ii.  7.  And 

ic  historian  is  careful  to  explain  how  it  was  that  Achan  left  no 

imily  :  '  he  transgressed  in  the  thing  accursed.' 

Some  who  accept  the  fact  that  all  Achan's belongings  were  destroyed, 

q)lain  by  the  assumption  that  his  family  must  have  been  privy  to, 

id  so  have  shared,  his  guilt.     But  this  rather  turns  the  difficulty 

dde  than  fairly  meets  and  explains  it.     The  narrative  sets  forth  with 

;ry  distinct  prominence  the  fact  that  Achan's  sin  brought  punish- 

ents  and  calamities  which  could  not  be  limited  to  himself,  which, 

deed,  would  not  have  been  limited  to  himself  if  only  he,  as  the 

)usehold  head  and  the  breadwinner,  had  been  taken  away :  even 

at   must   have   involved   family   disabilities — the  burdens   oi   the 

.dow  and  the  fatherless. 

It  might  be  sufficient  to  say  that  the  sharing  of  families  in  the 
>nsequences  of  the  sins  of  the  heads  of  families  was,  and  still  is,  an 
tablished  sentiment  and  custom  in  the  East.  And  the  legislative, 
ilitical,  and  social  ideas  of  an  age  must  be  on  the  level  of  the  age. 
oses  found  this  prevailing  sentiment,  and  the  utmost  he  could  do 
is  to  limit  and  quality  its  operation. 

But  it  may  further  be  said,  that  in  this  case  a  special  announce- 
snt  and  threatening  had  been  made,  and,  in  face  of  it,  with 


52       HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

unusual  daring  Achan  had  done  his  daring  deed.  Therefore  a 
special  example  was  needed.  Joshua  treated  the  possession  of  these 
spoils  from  Jericho  as  bringing  Achan  and  his  family  into  co-partner- 
ship with  the  people  of  Jericho,  and  so  they  came  under  the  banr 
which  involved  their  entire  destruction. 

But  it  is  possible  to  treat  the  subject  more  efficiently  by  showing 
that,  in  such  cases,  terrible  as  they  seem  from  modern  human  points 
of  view,  human  law  and  sentence  do  but  illustrate  and  conserve  the 
natural  order,  the  divine  constitution  of  society,  which  still  includes 
families  in  the  material  consequences  of  parents'  sins ;  communities 
\i\  the  penalties  following  on  the  sins  of  society  leaders ;  and 
lationsin  the  judgments  brought  on  by  the  follies  and  transgressions 
of  statesmen  and  of  kings. 

Scientific  and  philosophical  teachers  are  nowadays  finding  out  for 
us,  and  showing  to  us,  the  importance,  in  relation  to  the  moral 
education  of  humanity,  of  what  they  call  the  '  solidarity  of  the  race, 
the  way  in  which  one  man  is  linked  with  another  in  the  bearing  ol 
race-burdens.  But  in  this  they  are  only  illustrating  the  well-knowr 
Bible  principle,  that  *  if  one  member  suffers,  all  the  members  suffei 
with  it.' 

The  punishments  of  guilt  would  not  be  effective  in  convincing  m 
of  the  real  hatefulness  and  terribleness  and  corrupting  influence  o 
evil,  if  they  were  strictly  limited  to  the  wrong-doer :  they  would  no 
make  adequate  impression  on  the  feeling  of  the  race.  So  Goc 
stamps  the  exceeding  evil  of  sin  by  saying  to  the  sinner,  'Yoi 
cannot  keep  the  consequences  of  your  transgression  to  yourself 
they  will  smite  your  wife;  they  will  wound  your  innocent  children 
they  will  leave  corrupting  influences  on  your  generation.' 

So,  in  the  case  now  before  us,  Achan  suffered  penally r,  and  Achan': 
family  suffered  vicariously. 

As  giving  authority  to  this  explanation,  the  note  from  Ellicotf 
Commentary  may  be  quoted : — '  All  were  evidently  destroye< 
together.  For  any  other  sin  but  this,  Achan  must  have  suffere- 
alone.  But,  in  this  case,  warning  had  been  given  that  the  man  wh 
took  of  the  accursed  thing,  or  cherem,  would  be  an  accursed  thing  lik 
it,  if  he  brought  it  into  his  house  (Deut.  vii.  26),  and  would  make  th 
camp  of  Israel  cherem  also  (Josh.  vi.  18);  and  thus  Achan's  whol 
establishment  was  destroyed,  as  though  it  had  become  part  c 
Jericho.  It  is  not  necessary  to  assert  that  the  family  of  Achan  wer 
accomplices.  His  cattle  were  notso,  and  yet  they  were  destroyed.  .  .  . 
The  severity  of  the  punishment  must  be  estimated  by  the  relation  ( 
Achan's  crime  to  the  whole  plan  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan.  If  th 


THE  FATE  OF  THE  DECEIVED  PROPHET.        53 

destruction  of  the  Canaanites  was  indeed  the  execution  of  the  Diune 
vengeance,  it  must  be  kept  entirely  clear  of  all  baser  motives,  lest 
nen  should  say  that  Jehovah  gave  His  people  licence  to  deal  with 

.he  Canaanites  as  it  seemed  best  for  themselves The  gratifica- 

ion  of  human  passions  may  not  be  mingled  with  the  execution  of 
he  vengeance  of  God.' 


The   Fate  of  the   Deceived  Prophet. 

I  KINGS  xiii.  11-32  :  *  Forasmuch  as  them  hast  been  disobedient  unto  the  motith 
)f  the  Lord  ....  thy  carcase  shall  not  come  unto  the  sepulchre  of  thy  fathers' 
Rev.  Ver.\ 

Difficulty. — Should  -not  the  judgment  of  God,  in  this  case,  have 
'alien  rather  on  the  deceiver  than  on  the  deceived  ? 

Explanation. — God's  lessons  for  men  come  in  part  through 
lis  judgments,  and  we  may  say  especially  through  His  judgments  on 
lis  own  people,  through  His  ways  of  dealing  with  His  own  servants. 
They  are  a  spectacle  unto  men.  If  we  are  right-hearted  servants,  we 
hall  be  willing  for  others  to  be  taught,  even  through  and  by  means 
>f  our  sufferings. 

Now  one  most  essential  lesson  for  humanity  is  this  :  God  requires  a 
trict,  precise,  minute,  and  entire  obedience  of  His  commands. 
Vhen  He  speaks,  man  must  do  at  once,  exactly  and  without  ques- 
ioning,  what  He  orders.  He  must  be  even  obeyed  in  the  precise 
ray  He  directs.  It  is  not  enough  for  man  to  obey,  but  to  choose  his 
wn  times  and  ways.  To  teach  this  lesson  God  shows  that  He  will 
ot  pass  over  even  small  failures  from  obedience  in  His  trusted  and 
onoured  servants. 

This  is  the  meaning  of  the  incident  of  the  deceived  prophet.  He 
liled  in  completeness  and  precision  of  obedience,  and  he  must  be 
lade  a  public  monument,  for  the  warning  of  that  age  and  of  all  ages. 
'wo  things  are  clearly  set  forth  in  the  narrative  :  (i)  The  prophet 
om  Judah  was  commanded  to  reprove  Jeroboam  for  his  imperfect 
bedience.  Jeroboam  tried  to  think  himself,  and  to  persuade  others, 
lat  he  was  doing  Jehovah's  will,  but  he  was  doing  it  in  his  own  way 
-his  own  wilful  way ;  and  that  can  never  be  acceptable.  (2)  The 
rophet  had  definite  and  distinct  instructions  (see  verse  17),  and  this 
:ade  disobedience  without  excuse.  God  could  not  pass  by  the 
rophet's  failure  in  obedience,  when  that  prophet  was  actually  on  a 

ission  for  the  reproving  of  the  king's  failure  in  obedience. 

Thus  much  seems  quite  clear,  but  the  grave  difficulty  relates  to  the 
irt  taken  by  the  old  prophet  of  Bethel.  He  should  be  regarded  as 


54        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  Providential  agency  for  the  testing  of  the  other  prophet's 
obedience.  And  this  view  should  suffice.  All  virtue  must  come 
under  testings.  Jeroboam  tested  the  prophet  by  offering  him  food, 
and  the  prophet  withstood  the  test.  The  temptation  came  again  in 
more  subtle  guise,  through  one  who  professed  to  be  a  fellow-prophet ; 
and  the  man  yielded,  though  he  might  have  said,  '  You  speak 
confidently  enough,  but  I  must  carry  out  precisely  the  instructions 
which  God  has  given  directly  to  me.'  We  may  be  sure  that  the  old 
lying  and  deceiving  prophet  came  under  Divine  judgments,  but  we 
are  not  told  them,  simply  because  the  narrative  is  not  concerned  with 
God's  judgments  on  deceivers^  but  with  God's  judgments  on  imperfect 
obedience — a  much  more  needed  and  much  more  searching 
lesson. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  says  :  '  If  the  man  of  God  from  Judah  had 
been  spared,  the  effect  of  his  warning  against  the  sin  of  Jeroboam 
would  have  been  almost  lost.  He  returned  to  Bethel ;  he  communi- 
cated with  the  old  man,  the  prophet,  who  dwelt  there.  He  did  this, 
although  he  had  declared  publicly  at  Bethel  to  Jeroboam  that  he  was 
forbidden  by  God  to  eat  there  (verses  8,  9).  Thus  he  made  it  easy 
for  the  king  to  say,  that  the  man  of  Judah  was  not  a  person  to  be 
trusted,  and  that  he  had  lied  in  what  he  had  spoken  against  the 
altar ;  or  that,  if  he  was  a  man  of  God,  communion  with  the  dwellers 
at  Bethel  was  not  a  thing  unpleasing  to  Him  ;  and  God's  own  cause 
was  at  stake.' 

On  the  old  prophet  at  Bethel  Wordsworth  further  says  :  'God 
dealt  with  the  old  prophet  of  Bethel  as  He  had  dealt  of  old  with 
Balaam.  This  old  man  was  a  prophet ;  but,  like  Balaam  the  prophet, 
he  "held  the  truth  in  unrighteousness ;"  he  felt  that  the  mission  of 
the  man  of  Judah  against  the  altar  at  Bethel  was  tantamount  to  a 
condemnation  of  himself:  he  desired  to  weaken  the  effect  of  that 
censure ;  he  wished  to  appear  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  man  ol 
Judah ;  he  cared  little  whether  he  involved  him  in  ruin ;  he  allured 
him  back  to  Bethel  by  a  profession  of  prophetical  sanctity,  and  by  a 
pretence  of  an  angelic  message ;  he  did  this,  although  he  well  knew 
that  he  was  thus  setting  himself  against  the  command  of  the  Lore 
Himself.  And  he  seemed  almost  on  the  point  of  defeating  God'.' 
good  purposes,  and  of  blasting  His  merc.iful  design  in  sending  tht 
prophet  from  Judah  to  Bethel.  But  at  this  critical  point  Goc 
Himself  interfered.  He  did  with  this  old  prophet  as  He  had  clom 
with  Balaam  before  (Num.  xxii.  5  ;  xxiii.  5).  He  caught  him  in  hi* 
own  snare  ;  he  made  him  the  instrument  of  declaring  the  prophet'.' 
sin  and  God's  righteousness ;  He  put  a  word  into  his  mouth,  whicl 


THE  FATE  OF  THE  DECEIVED  PROPHET.       55 

He  constrained  him  to  utter  (verses  20-22).  He  was  a  prophet  who 
sinned  against  God,  and  sold  himself  to  the  Evil  One.  But  God 
still  used  him  as  a  prophet,  and  overruled  even  his  sin  for  the 
triumph  of  His  own  power  and  for  the  display  of  His  own 
glory.' 

Dean  Stanley  says  of  this  old  prophet :  *  The  motives  of  the 
prophet  of  Bethel  are  so  obscurely  given  in  the  sacred  narrative,  and 
so  differently  related  by  Josephus,  as  almost  to  defy  our  scrutiny. 
He  seems  to  be  one  of  those  mixed  characters,  true  to  history  and 
human  nature,  which  perpetually  appear  amongst  the  sacred  persons 
of  the  Old  Testament ;  moved  by  a  partial  wavering  inspiration  ; 
aiming  after  good,  yet  failing  to  attain  it ;  full  of  genuine  tender 
admiration  for  the  prophet,  of  whose  death  he  had  been  the  unwilling 
cause,  the  mouthpiece  of  truths  which  he  himself  but  faintly  under- 
stood.' 

The  incident  is  recorded  as  a  warning  against  sins  of  disobedience  in 
things  that  seem  of  small  importance.  Burder  recalls  an  illustration 
of  similar  severity  in  punishing  in  exactness  in  public  obedience. 
The  Athenians  put  their  ambassadors  to  death  on  their  return  from 
Arcadia,  though  they  had  faithfully  performed  their  business,  simply 
because  they  came  by  another  way  than  that  which  had  been 
prescribed  to  them. 

Joshua's  sending  Spies  to  Jericho. 

JOSHUA  ii.  I  :  '  And  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  sent  out  of  Shittiin  two  men  as 
spies  secretly,  saying,  Go  view  the  land,  and  Jericho.' 

Difficulty. — Can  secret  and  deceptive  work  ever  be  right  in  tht 
sight  of  God? 

Explanation. — From  the  higher  standpoint  of  Christianity,  and 
in  the  line  of  our  Lord's  teaching,  that  our  intercourse  with  each 
other  should  be  simply  *  Yea,  yea,'  *  Nay,  nay,'  we  may  say  that 
private  and  personal  acts  of  secrecy  and  deception  never  can  be  ac- 
ceptable in  the  sight  of  God.  And  even  under  the  earlier  dispensa- 
tion, schemes,  subtleties,  and  deceptions  in  private  life,  and  inter- 
course between  man  and  man,  never  meet  with  Divine  commenda- 
tion. 

But  things  may  be  necessary  for  the  ordering  of  society,  and  for 
the  abnormal  relations  of  nations,  which  cannot  be  permitted  in 
private  life.  The  distinction  between  the  two  conditions  may  be 
thus  stated.  Over  private  and  personal  relationships  God's  rules  hold 
control.  But  the  conditions  of  society  and  the  relations  of  nations 


56        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

are  adjusted  by  man,  who  tries,  more  or  less  sincerely  and  success- 
fully, to  adapt  to  varying  conditions  the  rules  of  God.  But  man  finds 
exigencies  arise  which  seem  to  demand  a  temporary  suspense  of  the 
higher  laws  of  truth  and  charity,  and  all  ages  have  recognised  that 
such  special  exigencies  are  found  in  times  of  war.  It  is  the  gravest 
accusation  that  can  be  brought  against  war,  that,  for  the  conduct- 
ing of  it  efficiently,  man  finds  he  must  suspend  the  great  moral 
laws. 

The  employment  of  spies  and  the  arrangement  of  ambushes  and 
stratagems  can  only  be  commended  if  the  war  undertaken  be  in  itself 
righteous.  War,  serious  evil  that  it  is,  may  be  used  by  God  for  His 
great  purposes,  just  as  He  uses  other  evil  things — plague,  famine, 
pestilence,  and  the  wrong-doings  of  men ;  but  while  He  is  pleased  to 
use  war,  under  its  human  conditions,  we  need  not  assume  His 
approval  of  the  spirit  shown  in  it,  or  the  things  done. 

It  is  a  remarkable  thing  that,  in  the  record  of  sending  out  these 
spies,  it  is  made  quite  plain  that  Joshua  acted  according  to  the  good 
judgment  of  the  skilful  general,  and  not  by  express  Divine  direc- 
tion. 

All  that  can  be  said  in  approval  of  Joshua's  act  is  expressed  by 
Lange:  'The  use  of  human  prudence,  with  all  trust  in  Divine  Pro- 
vidence, is  not  only  allowable,  but  often  also  a  binding  duty.  Joshua 
ought  not,  in  his  position  as  a  general,  to  enter  into  a  strange  and 
hostile  land  without  having  explored  it  first.' 

An  Evil  Spirit  from  God. 

i  SAMUEL  xvi.  14,  15:  '  Now  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  had  departed  from  Saul, 
and  an  evil  spirit  from  the  Lord  troubled  him.  And  Saul's  servants  said  unto 
him,  Behold  now  an  evil  spirit  from  God  troubleth  thee.' 

Difficulty. — Must  God  be  thought  of  as  employing  evil  spirits  ? 

Explanation. — The  ancients  were  not  able  to  distinguish  cases 
of  mental  disease,  of  mania  or  epilepsy,  from  cases  of  devil-posses- 
sion. Their  unscientific  explanation  of  idiocy  and  madness  is  not  to 
be  accepted  by  us  as  inspired  truth.  Scripture  gives  truthfully  the 
ideas  entertained  in  a  particular  age,  but  Divine  inspiration  does  not 
guarantee  correctness  in  matters  of  medical  science. 

As  cases  of  mental  disease,  these  so-called  possessions  of  evil 
spirits  are  to  be  treated  in  the  same  way  as  cases  of  bodily  disease. 
We  can  quite  readily  receive  the  truth  that  diseases  affecting  the  body 
are  sent  by  God,  and  used  by  Him  for  judgment  and  correction ; 
and  we  ought  to  find  no  difficulty  in  apprehending  that  diseases 


AN  EVIL  SPIRIT  FROM  GOD.  57 

affecting  the  mind  are  sent  and  used  by  Him  in  the  same  way.  The 
evil  spirit  from  God  afflicting  King  Saul  was  an  obscure  form  of 
mental  disease,  in  its  natural  features  being  a  result  of  the  exaggeration 
of  the  king's  self-will,  and  of  his  annoyance  at  his  will  being  success- 
fully resisted. 

On  the  existence  of  evil  spirits,  and  the  senses  in  which  they  are 
subordinate  to  God,  and  used  for  the  fulfilment  of  His  purposes,  a 
treatise  might  be  written,  and  some  special  features  of  the  subject 
will  be  found  treated  in  other  paragraphs.  It  may  suffice  in  this  case 
to  support  the  view  that  Saul's  was  a  case  of  mania  or  mental 
disease. 

Some  writers  translate  the  word  *  an  evil  or  melancholy  spirit.' 
Matthew  Henry  says  :  '  The  devil,  by  the  Divine  permission,  troubled 
and  terrified  Saul  by  means  of  the  corrupt  humours  of  his  body  and 
passions  of  his  mind.  He  grew  fretful  and  peevish  and  discontented, 
timorous  and  suspicious,  ever  and  anon  starting  and  trembling.  He 
was  sometimes,  says  Josephus,  as  if  he  had  been  choked  or  strangled, 
and  a  perfect  demoniac  by  fits.  This  made  him  unfit  for  business, 
precipitate  in  his  counsels,  the  contempt  of  his  enemies,  and  a  burden 
to  all  about  him.' 

BisJiop  Wordsworth  says :  *  Saul  became  melancholy,  gloomy, 
irritable,  envious,  suspicious  and  distracted,  as  a  man  wandering  about 
in  the  dark.' 

Ellicotfs  Commentary  says  :  '  It  was  a  species  of  insanity,  fatal 
alike  to  the  poor  victim  of  the  malady  and  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
kingdom  over  which  he  ruled.' 

Jamieson  says :  *  His  own  gloomy  reflections — the  consciousness 
that  he  had  not  acted  up  to  the  character  of  an  Israelitish  king— the 
loss  of  his  throne,  and  the  extinction  of  his  royal  house,  made  him 
jealous,  irritable,  vindictive,  and  subject  to  fits  of  morbid  melancholy.' 

Kitto  says :  *  The  mind  of  this  prince,  not  in  his  best  fortunes 
strong,  gradually  gave  way  beneath  the  terror  of  these  thoughts,  the 
certainty  of  his  doom,  and  the  uncertain  shapes  in  which  it  appeared. 
He  sank  into  a  deep  melancholy,  which  being  regarded  as  a  Divine 
judgment,  it  is  said  that  "an  evil  spirit  from  the  Lord  troubled 
him."1 


58        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES, 


Rahab's  Untruthful  Answer. 

JOSHUA  ii.  4,  5  :  'And  the  woman  took  the  two  men,  and  hid  them  ;  and  she 
said,  Yea,  the  men  came  unto  me,  but  I  wist  not  whence  they  were  :  and  it  came 
to  pass  about  the  time  of  the  shutting  of  the  gate,  when  it  was  dark,  that  the  men 
went  out ;  whither  the  men  went  I  wot  not :  pursue  after  them  quickly,  for  ye 
shall  overtake  them.' 

Difficulty. — Are  we  to  understand  that  the  commendation  of  Rahab 
includes  approval  of  her  deception  ? 

Explanation. — The  commendation  of  Scripture  applies  wholly 
to  the  faith  in  God,  of  which  her  conduct  was  a  vigorous  expression, 
and  it  implies  no  acceptance  of  the  particular  words  and  deeds,  which 
are  simply  recorded  as  historically  true.  A  man  may  do  a  wrong 
thing  in  a  right  spirit ;  and  then  God  will  graciously  accept  the  spirit 
while  He  must  condemn  the  thing.  And  so  a  man  may  do  a  right 
thing  in  a  wrong  spirit.  Then  God  may  be  pleased  to  use  the  bad 
man's  right  thing,  while  He  condemns  the  bad  man. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  king  and  people  of  Jericho,  Rahab's 
action  was  traitorous.  Judged  by  ordinary  rules  of  morality,  she  was 
a  liar  and  a  deceiver.  But  from  the  point  of  view  of  Jehovah's 
supreme  claims  over  all  kings  and  people,  her  act  was  one  of  faith — 
wrong  still  in  modes,  and  only  right  in  its  supreme  aim. 

The  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (xi.  31)  distinctly  declares 
the  acceptance  of  Rahab  to  have  rested  on  the  faith  in  God,  which 
her  actions  showed.  '  By  faith  Rahab  the  harlot  perished  not  with 
them  that  were  disobedient,  having  received  the  spies  with  peace/ 
(Rev.  Ver.) 

The  case  of  Rahab,  however,  opens  up  for  consideration  one  of  the 
most  perplexing  questions  of  casuistry :  How  far  does  stress  of  cir- 
cumstances relieve  moral  obligations?  Does  personal  danger  remove 
the  guilt  of  lying  for  the  sake  of  self-preservation  ?  Does  a  state  of 
war  alter  the  claims  which  one  man  naturally  has  upon  his  brother, 
and  suspend,  as  between  the  parties  at  war,  the  claims  of  the  moral 
law? 

All  nations,  in  all  ages,  answer  these  questions  in  the  affirmative. 
Christianity,  however,  affirms  that  the  state  of  war  is  wrong.  Christi- 
anity refuses  to  loosen  moral  claims  for  any  set  of  circumstances ; 
and  teaches  that  men  must  suffer,  and  men  must  die,  in  unswerving 
loyalty  to  the  Yea  which  is  Yea,  and  the  Nay  which  is  Nay. 

But  we  may  not  judge  the  earlier  ages  of  the  world,  when  men  were 
only  gradually  discovering  the  true  magnificence  of  the  moral  law  as 
an  all-sufficient  standard  of  conduct  and  relations,  bv  the  Christian 


RAHAB'S  UNTRUTHFUL  ANSWER.  59 

standard.  As  Christians  we  must  condemn  Rahab's  untruthfulness. 
As  reasonable  readers  of  history,  who  understand  that  the  moral 
education  of  the  race  has  been  carried  on  from  small  beginnings 
through  progressive  stages,  we  can  find  explanations  and  excuses  for 
her,  and  even  say  that  her  conduct  was  not  thought  wrong  when 
judged  by  the  men  of  her  time. 

W.  H.  Groser  says :  '  Rahab's  protection  of  the  spies  has  been 
stigmatized  as  traitorous,  and  her  concealment  of  them  as  a  piece  of 
lying  and  deceit.  But  as  to  the  first,  it  is  evident  that  she  was  con- 
vinced that  the  cause  of  Israel  was  that  of  the  true  God,  to  oppose 
which  would  have  been  the  greater  sin.  And  as  to  the  deception 
which  she  practised,  there  is  no  need  to  defend  that  which  is  nowhere 
commended  in  itself.  Rahab  is  not  praised  for  \\Q?  falsehood,  but  for 
her  faith ;  although  many  Christian  moralists,  beside  Paley,  would 
defend  deception  in  word  and  deed,  when  practised  to  save  life.' 

Bishop  Wordsworth  meets  this  difficulty  in  a  very  wise  and  satis- 
factory manner.  '  Rahab  was  guilty  of  a  falsehood  ;  but  here  is  an 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  history ;  her  moral  infirmity  is  not  con- 
cealed or  extenuated,  although  she  had  been  received  into  the  family 
of  God's  people,  and  was  dwelling  in  Israel,  when  the  Book  of  Joshua 
was  written.  Rahab  had  been  brought  up  among  idolaters,  who 
have  little  regard  for  truth ;  and  she  lived  in  Jericho,  one  of  the 
greatest  cities  of  Canaan.  It  was  not  to  be  expected  that,  all  at  once, 
she  would  become  a  lover  of  truth,  and  would  think  it  sinful  to 
employ  an  artifice  to  attain  a  good  end.  Her  case  was  like  that  of 
the  Egyptian  midwives,  who  told  a  falsehood  to  Pharaoh  in  order  to 
save  the  lives  of  the  male  children  of  Israel  (Exod.  L  17,  21).  In 
both  cases  God  was  "  not  extreme  to  mark  what  was  done  amiss," 
but  graciously  accepted  their  acts  of  faith  and  mercy,  although  they 
were  sullied  and  blemished  by  human  infirmity ;  and  thus  He  gently 
led  them  on  to  higher  degrees  of  virtue;  and  with  the  spirit  of 
obedience  and  trust,  which  the  midwives  and  Rahab  evinced,  they 
would  hardly  fail  to  attain  those  higher  degrees,  when  they  were  more 
fully  conversant  with  His  Law — the  Law  of  Truth  as  well  as  of  Love.' 

The  gist  of  the  matter  may  be  expressed  in  the  following  very 
forcible  sentence  : — '  The  Divine  standard  of  sin  and  holiness  never 
varies ;  but  the  standard  of  man's  conscience,  even  when  faith  is  a 
dominant  principle  in  the  character,  may  vary  to  a  very  considerable 
degree.  In  Jesus  Christ  "all  that  believe  are  justified  from  all  things  ;'J 
but  "by  the  deeds  01  the  law,"  no  one.'  (Rev.  C.  H.  Waller,  M.A.) 


60        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Gideon's   Sin  in   the  Matter  of  the  Ephod. 

JUDGES  viii.  27  :  '  And  Gideon  made  an  ephod  thereof,  and  put  it  in  his  city, 
even  in  Ophrah  :  and  all  Israel  went  a  whoring  after  it  there;  and  it  became  a 
snare  unto  Gideon,  and  to  his  house  '  (Rev.  Ver.}. 

Question. —  What  was  this  article,  that  Gideon  made^  and  why 
was  making  it  wrong  ? 

Answer. — The  ephod  was  a  linen  tunic,  worn  by  the  High  Priest 
as  his  characteristic  vestment.  In  later  times  it  seems  to  have  been 
worn  by  all  the  priests.  But  when  Gideon  lived  it  was  worn  by  the 
High  Priest  only,  and  by  him  to  hold  the  richly  jewelled  breastplate, 
when  he  inquired  of  God  by  Urim  and  Thummim. 

Two  things  seems  to  have  influenced  Gideon,  (i)  The  priests  at 
Shiloh  had  shown  no  interest  in  his  mission,  and  he  felt,  therefore 
alienated  from  them.  (2)  He  had  himself  received  direct  communi- 
cations from  God.  When  he  returned  successful,  and  with  a  large 
spoil  of  jewels,  the  idea  was  suggested  to  his  mind  that  he  could  now 
be  independent  of  the  priests,  and  have  an  ephod  and  breastplate  of 
his  own,  by  means  of  which  he  could  directly  appeal  to  God.  We 
are  to  understand  the  ephod  he  made  as  including  all  the  parapher- 
nalia for  inquiring  of  God. 

The  sin  of  Gideon  was  the  sin  of  Jeroboam.  He  took  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  religious  affairs  of  the  nation  into  his  own  hands,  and 
acted  upon  what  appeared  to  be  expedient,  not  in  view  of  what  was 
right.  Both  Gideon  and  Jeroboam  had  a  certain  measure  of  good 
intention ;  but  good  intentions  can  never  excuse  wilfulness.  *  He 
was  reprehensible  for  setting  up  this  schismatical  ephod,  and  the 
sacred  historian  meant  to  attribute  the  fall  of  his  house  to  this 
particular  sin.' 

Dr.  Farrar,  remarking  on  the  ephod  being  put  in  Gideon's  own 
city,  Ophrah,  says  :  '  This  gives  us  a  clue  to  Gideon's  motive.  Shiloh, 
the  national  sanctuary,  was  in  the  precincts  of  the  fierce  tribe 
of  Ephraim,  and  Gideon  may  have  been  as  anxious  as  Jeroboam 
afterwards  was  to  keep  some  direct  hold  on  the  nation's  worship,  as 
one  of  the  secrets  of  political  power.  It  was  the  endeavour  to 
secure  and  perpetuate  by  unworthy  political  expedients  a  power 
which  he  had  received  by  Divine  appointment.' 

Bishop  Wordsworth  draws  out  the  lesson  of  the  incident  in  this 
way :  *  Gideon's  history  is  a  warning  that  it  requires  more  than  a 
good  intention  to  make  a  good  act ;  and  that  the  examples  01  the  best 
of  men  are  not  a  safe  guide  of  conduct,  and  the  better  the  man  is,  the 
worse  will  be  the  consequences  of  bad  acts  done  by  him/ 


DAVID'S  DECEPTION  OF  THE  PHILISTINES.     61 

J3ishop  Hall  remarks  :  '  Gideon  meant  well  by  his  rich  ephod,  yet 
this  act  set  all  Israel  a-whoring.  God  had  chosen  a  place  and 
service  of  His  own  :  and  when  the  wit  of  man  will  be  over-pleasing 
God  with  better  devices  than  His  own,  it  ends  in  mischief.' 


David's   Deception   of  the   Philistines. 

I  SAMUEL  xxvii.  II,  12:  'And  David  saved  neither  man  nor  woman  alive,  to 
bring  them  to  Gath,  saying,  Lest  they  should  tell  on  us,  saying,  So  did  David,  and% 
so  hath  been  his  manner  all  the  while  he  hath  dwelt  in  the  country  of  the 
Philistines.  And  Achish  believed  David,  saying,  He  hath  made  his  people  Israel 
utterly  to  abhor  him  ;  therefore  he  shall  be  my  servant  for  ever.' 

Question. —  Can  we  be  required  to  approve  of  David's  action 
towards  Achish  ? 

Answer. — No,  we  are  not.  It  properly  arouses  our  indignation, 
and  calls  for  our  reprobation.  We  may  find  some  explanations  of  his 
conduct,  when  it  is  judged  from  a  purely  prudential  point  of  view ; 
but  we  can  find  no  excuses  for  it.  It  was  wrong  as  deception.  It 
was  wrong  as  the  self-willed  shaping  of  his  own  circumstances.  It 
was  wrong  as  an  utter  failing  from  trust  in  God.  But  the  first  verse 
of  the  chapter  clearly  informs  us  that  it  was  a  time  of  hopelessness 
and  despair  with  David — really  a  time  of  backsliding  ;  and  we  have 
the  record  preserved  for  us  of  the  sad  mistake  he  fell  into,  and  the 
shame  he  brought  upon  the  name  of  religion,  when  thus  for  a  while 
he  '  followed  the  devices  and  desires  of  his  own  heart.'  These  are 
not  the  actions  of  David  the  pious,  but  of  David  the  apostate,  and 
they  cannot  in  any  sense  be  fairly  charged  upon  his  religion,  or  made 
into  a  charge  upon  religion  in  general.  They  are  recorded  as 
warnings  of  the  peril  to  which  the  good  man  is  exposed  if,  even  in  a 
time  of  despondency,  he  lets  self-will  get  the  mastery. 

Canon  Spence  says :  *  This  year  and  four  months  spent  with 
Achish  were  among  the  darkest  days  of  David's  life.  He  was  sorely 
tried,  it  is  true ;  but  he  had  adopted  the  very  course  his  bitterest  foes 
would  have  wished  him  to  select.  In  open  arms,  apparently  leagued 
with  the  deadliest  foes  of  Israel ;  like  an  Italian  condottiere,  or  captain 
of  free  lances  in  the  middle  ages,  he  had  taken  service  and  accepted 
the  wages  of  that  very  Philistine  city  whose  champion  he  once  had 
slain  in  the  morning  of  his  career.  At  last  his  enemies  at  the  court 
of  Saul  had  reason  when  they  spoke  of  him  as  a  traitor.  From  the 
curt  recital  in  this  chapter,  which  deals  with  the  saddest  portion  of 
David's  career,  we  shall  see  that  while  he  apparently  continued  to- 
make  common  cause  with  the  enemies  of  his  race,  he  still  used  his 
power  to  help,  and  not  to  injure,  his  countrymen ;  but  the  price  he- 


62        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

paid  for  his  patriotism  was  a  life  of  falsehood,  stained,  too,  with  deeds 
of  fierce  cruelty,  shocking  even  in  those  rough,  half-barbarous 
times/ 

Referring  to  David's  wholesale  slaughterings  at  this  time,  Canon 
Spence  asks  :  '  Was  it  not  these  acts  of  ruthless  cruelty  which  left  on 
this  king's  hands  the  stain  of  blood  which  rendered  them  unfit  in 
after-days  to  build  the  House  of  the  Lord  he  longed  so  passionately 
to  erect  ?' 

Dr.  Geikie  says  :  *  That  one  who  could  compose  such  psalms  as 
his  should  be  capable  of  habitual  deception,  and  unrestrained 
slaughter,  even  of  women  and  children,  only  illustrates  the  low  moral 
standard  of  the  age,  and  the  strange  contradictions  of  human  nature. 
Spiritual  development  such  as  his,  in  an  age  so  rude,  crafty,  and 
bloodthirsty,  is  in  itself  a  miracle  of  which  the  only  explanation  is 
that  he  owed  it  to  Divine  inspiration.' 

Bishop  Wordsworth  says  :  *  The  sacred  historian  does  not  disguise 
from  the  reader,  that  David  resorted  to  unworthy  shifts  and  pre- 
varications, and  to  acts,  it  may  be,  of  cruelty.  Such  were  the  results 
of  his  want  of  trust  in  the  Divine  providence,  and  failure  to  rely  upon 
God.' 

The   Slaughter   of  the   Baal   Worshippers. 

2  KINGS  x.  18-28;  comp.  xi.  17,  18  :  'Jehu  said  to  the  guard  and  to  the 
captains,  Go  in,  and  slay  them  ;  let  none  come  forth.' 

Question. — Are  we  required  to  approve  of  the  methods  in  which 
mm  carry  out  the  Divine  judgments  ?  Must  we  think  of  God  as 

pleased  withjehiis  treachery  ? 

Answer. — God  always  deals  with  men  as  free  agents,  who  can  put 
quality  and  character  into  the  things  which  they  are  commanded  to 
do.  When  He  employs  material  forces  to  execute  His  judgments, 
disease,  famine,  tempest,  earthquake,  etc.,  He  keeps  the  entire 
control  of  them  in  His  own  hands.  Such  things  can  manifest  no 
individuality,  and  so  no  moral  quality.  When  God  employs  man,  in 
ways  of  war  or  judicial  punishment,  He  leaves  them  in  a  measure 
free  to  devise  methods,  and  to  manifest  personal  character  and 
motive  in  their  methods.  If  this  be  fairly  apprehended,  it  will  become 
clear  that,  in  many  cases,  God  can  approve,  and  even  reward,  a  man 
for  the  thing  done,  when  He  must  disapprove,  and  even  punish  a  man 
for,  the  spirit  and  manner  in  which  he  has  done  it.  This  considera- 
tion enables  us  to  limit  the  Divine  approval  to  the  execution  of  the 
Divine  judgment  on  the  foreign  Baalites,  who  had  alienated  Jehovah's 
people  from  their  allegiance ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  explain  why 


SLAUGHTER  OF  THE  BAAL    WORSHIPPERS.       63 

God  judged  Jehu,  and  his  posterity  for  the  self-seeking,  the  treachery, 
and  the  undue  violence  with  which  he  did  Jehovah's  work.  He  was 
praised  for  his  zeal,  but  not  for  his  subtlety. 

In  excuse  for  Jehu,  all  that  can  be  urged  is,  that  such  terrible 
destructions  are  characteristic  of  Eastern  lands  at  times  when 
reigning  dynasties  are  changed.  His  dreadful  massacre  of  the 
Baal-worshippers  can  be  paralleled  by  the  slaughter  of  the  Janissaries, 
and  other  terrible  tragedies  in  the  modern  history  of  the  East. 

Dean  Stanley  writes:  'The  character  of  Jehu  is  not  difficult 
to  understand,  if  we  take  it  as  a  whole,  and  consider  the  general 
impression  left  upon  us  by  the  Biblical  account.  He  is  exactly  one 
of  those  men  whom  we  are  compelled  to  recognise,  not  for  what  is 
good  or  great  in  themselves,  but  as  instruments  for  destroying  evil 
and  preparing  the  way  for  good  ;  such  as  Augustus  Caesar  at  Rome, 
Sultan  Mahmoud  II.  in  Turkey,  or  one  closer  at  hand  in  the  revolu- 
tions of  our  own  time  and  neighbourhood.  A  destiny,  long  kept  in 
view  by  himself  or  others — inscrutable  secrecy  and  reserve  in  carrying 
out  his  plans — a  union  of  cold  remorseless  tenacity  with  occasional 
bursts  of  furious,  wayward,  almost  fanatical,  zeal ;  this  is  Jehu,  as  he 
is  set  before  us  in  the  historical  narrative,  the  worst  type  of  a  son  of 
Jacob — the  "  Supplanter,"  as  he  is  called,  without  the  noble  and 
princely  qualities  of  Israel — the  most  unlovely  and  the  most  coldly 
commended  of  all  the  heroes  of  his  country  '  (Hosea  i.  4). 

The  following  estimate  of  Jehu's  act  is  given  by  Prof.  Rawlinson: — 
;  Objectively  considered,  the  slaughter  of  the  servants  of  Baal  was  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  law;  but,  subjectively,  the  motive  which 
nfluenced  Jehu  was  thoroughly  selfish.  The  priests  and  prophets  of 
Baal  in  Israel,  as  depending  entirely  on  the  dynasty  of  Ahab,  the 
<ing  who  had  originally  introduced  the  Baal-worship,  might  prove 
dangerous  to  Jehu.  By  exterminating  them  he  might  hope  to  secure 
;he  whole-hearted  allegiance  of  the  party  that  stood  by  the  legitimate 
worship.  His  maintenance  of  the  cultus  established  by  Jeroboam 
'verse  29)  proves  that  he  acted  from  policy  rather  than  religious 
seal.' 

The  Lawfulness  of  Laying  Ambush. 

JOSHUA  viii.  2  :  *  Set  thee  an  ambush  for  the  city  behind  it '  (Rev.  Ver.) . 

Difficulty. —  Why  did  God  in  this  case  order  Joshua  to  adopt 
measures  of  human  expediency  ?  Could  He  not  have  given  success  to  the 
irmy  in  open  fight  ? 

Explanation. — Joshua  had  to  deal  with  a  people  who  were  difi- 
icartened  and  even  demoralized.  A  second  straightforward  attack 


64        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

on  Ai  would  have  made  too  great  a  demand  on  the  faith  and 
obedience  of  the  army.  As  a  matter  of  mere  human  prudence  it  was 
better  to  try  another  method,  and  one  which  divided  the  host,  occu- 
pied the  attention  of  the  soldiers,  demanding  secrecy,  endurance,  and 
promptitude. 

Stratagem  and  ambush,  however,  belong  to  comparatively  un- 
civilized times  and  methods  of  warfare.  Common  sentiment  now 
regards  them  as  dishonourable,  and,  except  in  cases  of  uttermost 
necessity,  no  general  would  now  take  unfair  deceptive  advantage  of 
his  enemy.  We  may  only  say  that  ambush  was  a  lawful  method  of 
warfare  in  the  times  of  Joshua ;  it  suited  the  Eastern  character ;  it 
belonged  to  the  guilefulness  of  the  Israelite  race,  and  the  require- 
ments and  permissions  of  the  God  and  King  of  Israel  could  reason- 
ably be  on  the  level  of  the  public  sentiment. 

Whether  '  ambush '  is  lawful  in  any  given  case  must  be  decided  by 
the  circumstances  of  the  case.  War  is  an  unnatural  relation  for 
brethren  of  the  one  human  family  to  be  in ;  and  it  is  safer  to  treat 
everything  connected  with  it  as  abnormal.  We  can  never  discover 
what  is  right  or  what  is  wrong  for  our  ordinary  and  proper  human 
associations  by  the  study  of  things  done  in  war-times.  The  whole 
thing  cometh  of  evil,  and  is  stained  through  and  through  with 
evil. 

We  can  only  say  that  God  enters  into  existing  human  conditions, 
low  and  base  though  they  may  be,  in  order  that  He  may  overrule 
them  to  the  accomplishment  of  His  high  and  gracious  moral  ends  in 
the  final  well-being  of  the  race. 

Reverting  to  the  narrative,  the  practical  wisdom  of  the  ambush 
may  be  clearly  shown.  It  seems  that  the  town  of  Bethel  was  suffi- 
ciently near  to  render  aid  to  Ai.  It  was  in  the  rear,  less  than  two 
miles  off,  and  was  at  least  a  shelter  to  which  the  men  of  Ai  might  fly 
if  they  were  defeated.  As  a  matter,  therefore,  of  military  prudence, 
it  was  necessary  to  mask  Bethel,  and  this  was  done  by  sending  men 
round  about  to  secure  the  valley  between  the  two  towns.  Then, 
Bethel  being  secured,  the  men  of  Ai  could  be  drawn  forth  by  one 
party  and  their  retreat  cut  off  by  another.  Except  for  the  scheme  to 
deceive  the  soldiers  of  Ai  by  seeming  to  flee  before  them,  Joshua's 
plan  may  be  regarded  as  a  display  of  military  science,  and  not  as  a 
mere  stratagem. 

There  is  some  confusion  in  the  numbers  of  the  soldiers  who  were 
employed  in  carrying  out  Joshua's  scheme,  but  a  very  simple  explana- 
tion removes  all  difficulty.  Thirty  thousand  was  the  number  selected 
by  Joshua  for  the  enterprise.  These  were  sent  away  from  the  camp 


GOD'S  INFLUENCE  ON  HEATHEN  PEOPLES.     65 

to  make  a  night  march  towards  Ai :  five  thousand  of  these  were 
specially  charged  to  go  round  the  west  side  of  Ai,  between  that  city 
and  Bethel ;  while  the  rest  took  up  position  on  the  north  of  the  city. 
All  was  ready  when  the  morning  came ;  the  five  thousand  behind  the 
city  were  not  discovered,  and  the  King  of  Ai  naturally  thought  that 
the  large  host  in  front  of  him  was  the  only  army  with  which  he  had 
to  deal.  Joshua  evidently  took  a  position  on  the  hills,  from  whence 
his  signal  of  the  uplifted  spear  could  be  observed  by  the  sentinels  of 
the  five  thousand. 

God's  Influence  on  Heathen  Peoples. 

JOSHUA  xi.  20  :  '  For  it  was  of  the  Lord  to  harden  their  hearts,  to  come  against 
Israel  to  battle,  that  he  might  utterly  destroy  them,  that  they  might  have  no  favour, 
but  that  he  might  destroy  them,  as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses.' 

Question. — Is  this  to  be  regarded  as  a  statement  of  facts }  or  an 
expression  of  the  opinion  of  the  writer  ?  If  it  represents  facts,  does  it 
not  remove  the  guilt  of  these  kings  ? 

Answer. — If  we  found  such  a  statement  in  any  ordinary  book  of 
history,  we  should  have  no  difficulty  in  recognising  in  it  the  attempted 
explanation  of  the  writer  of  the  history.  The  verse  is  evidently  in- 
serted as  a  note ;  and  we  have  first  to  see  how  far  such  an  opinion 
fits  into  the  prevailing  sentiments  of  the  age,  and  then  how  far  it 
finds  expression  for  those  deeper  relations  of  God  to  human  actions 
and  affairs  which  should  be  recognised  in  all  ages. 

It  seems  to  have  been  a  peculiarity  of  the  Hebrew  mind  to  regard 
God  as  doing  what  we  think  of  God  as  permitting.  We  can  distin 
guish  between  God's  ruling  and  overruling,  between  God's  acting 
and  controlling  other  men's  acting.  But  these  distinctions  were  too 
subtle  for  the  Hebrew  mind.  The  Israelites  had  to  preserve  the 
truths  of  God's  unity,  of  His  absolute  control  over  all  things  and  all 
beings,  of  His  omniscience,  omnipresence,  and  supreme  authority ; 
and  in  their  efforts  to  preserve  these  truths,  they  stated,  without  due 
qualifications,  the  Divine  relations  with  self-willed  nations  and 
kings. 

In  the  passage  now  before  us,  we  should  simply  see  an  Eastern  and 
Hebrew  form  of  expressing  the  fact  of  God's  overruling  even  the 
wilfulness  of  men ;  but  under  its  figures  we  may  find  the  permanent 
fact  of  the  Divine  dealing  with  individuals  and  communities.  His 
judgments  may  take  effect  on  the  minds  as  well  as  on  the  bodies  or 
circumstances  of  men.  When  ihey  take  effect  on  mind  and  will  and 
judgment,  exerting  a  blinding,  bewildering,  or  hardening  influence, 
actual  calamities  follow  as  the  natural  result.  Too  often  men  only 

5 


66        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

recognise  the  calamities,  and  they  fail  to  see  that  the  Divine  judgment 
came  first  on  the  mind,  the  will,  or  the  heart. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  explanation  now  given  has 
been  found  so  universally  acceptable  that  it  has  been  embodied  in  a 
proverb,  *  Quern  Deus  vult  perdere,  prius  dementat ' — '  Whom  God 
would  destroy  He  first  dements.'  And  clearing  away  some  of  the 
difficulty  of  God's  'hardening  hearts,'  Moses  says  of  Sihon,  King  of 
Heshbon,  *  The  Lord  thy  God  hardened  his  spirit,  and  made  his 
heart  obstinate.'  The  similar  expressions  used  of  the  Egyptian 
Pharaoh  are  explained  in  other  paragraphs. 

The  passage  on  which  we  are  now  commenting  does  not  assert  the 
guilt  of  these  kings  in  attacking  Israel.  Their  sin  was  quite  distinct 
from  their  relations  with  Israel.  It  concerned  the  corruptions, 
idolatries,  and  violences  of  their  past  lives,  and  their  coming  against 
Israel  and  being  destroyed  is  all  summed  up  as  belonging  to  their 
judgment,  and  not  to  their  guilt.  First  delusion,  then  masterful  self- 
will,  and  then  overwhelming  calamity ;  but  delusion  as  well  as 
destruction  a  direct  Divine  judgment. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  word  translated  '  harden '  would  be  more 
correctly  rendered  *  strengthen  '  (LXX.  xar/tf^y<ra/). 

There  is  a  good  note  in  Lange :  'That  their  ruin  serves  to  glorify 
God  is  self-evident ;  only  the  matter  should  not  be  so  understood  as 
it  is  by  Calvin,  who,  while  not  denying  indeed  the  guilt  of  the 
Canaanites,  still  leaves  in  the  background  the  judicial  providence  of 
God  revealing  itself  in  their  hardness  of  heart,  and  speaks  only  of 
God's  having  made  a  way  for  his  decree  by  'hardening  the  un- 
godly.' 

The  Mistake  of  keeping   Mistaken  Vows. 

I  SAMUEL  xiv.  24,  44,  45  :  '  And  the  men  of  Israel  were  distressed  that  day ; 
but  Saul  adjured  the  people,  saying,  Cursed  be  the  man  that  eateth  any  food  until 
it  be  evening,  and  I  be  avenged  on  mine  enemies.'  '  And  Saul  said,  God  do  so 
and  more  also,  for  thou  shalt  surely  die,  Jonathan.  And  the  people  said  unto 
Saul,  Shall  Jonathan  die,  who  hath  wrought  this  great  salvation  Li  Israel  ?' 
(Rev.  Ver.} 

Difficulty. — To  what  extent  may  altered  circumstances,  or  increased 
ijnowleJge,  be  allowed  to  influence  the  keeping  of  our  vows  or  the  fulfil- 
ment of  our  promises  ? 

Explanation. — Eastern  people  made  much  more  of  vows  and 
solemn  pledges  than  we  do.  In  this  age  of  writing,  all  promises  and 
agreements  are  properly  drawn  out,  signed,  and  witnessed.  They  are, 
therefore,  made  quietly  and  calmly,  and  upon  all  due  consideration, 


THE  MISTAKE  OF  KEEPING  MISTAKEN  VOW'S.     67 

and  the  precise  fulfilment  of  them  can  therefore  be  rightly  and  legally 
enforced. 

But  in  ancient  times  and  Eastern  lands  documentary  pledges  were 
unusual,  and  vows  publicly  uttered  and  heard  by  witnesses  took  their 
place.  It  was  therefore  most  important  that  a  public  sentiment  con- 
cerning the  irrefragible  character  of  such  vows  should  be  established, 
more  especially  if  they  were  uttered  by  persons  in  authority.  But 
there  was  always  the  danger  of  such  vows  being  made  hastily,  upon 
insufficient  or  incorrect  information,  without  due  consideration,  or 
upon  an  impulse  of  good  feeling  which  had  no  adequate  support 
from  good  judgment. 

Still,  the  importance  of  maintaining  the  sentiment  that  a  vow  made 
would  certainly  be  fulfilled,  led  kings  and  leaders  to  keep  promises 
which  circumstances  proved  to  have  been  unwisely  made.  In  such 
cases  we  must  judge  of  their  action  in  the  light  of  its  influence  upon 
their  age ;  but  the  higher  Christian  light  makes  quite  clear  our  duty 
in  relation  to  promises  made  upon  imperfect  knowledge  or  inadequate 
representations.  All  such  promises  may  be  broken,  and  they  may  be 
better  broken  than  kept.  The  case  is  unquestionable,  if  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  promise  will  do  some  positive  wrong,  or  be  contrary  to 
the  spirit  of  righteousness  and  charity  which  should  rule  in  Christian 
hearts. 

From  the  Christian  standpoint  there  is  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
Jephthah  should  have  broken  his  vow,  and  before  God  was  wrong  in 
fulfilling  it.  And  there  is  even  less  hesitation  in  saying  that  Herod 
was  condemned  before  God  for  keeping  a  vow  made  .under  sensual 
excitements,  which  brought  round  the  peril  of  one  of  God's  faithful 
servants.  Darius  was  right  in  breaking  the  vow,  or  law,  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians  respecting  Daniel,  when  God  so  plainly  showed  how 
rash  and  how  malicious  the  securing  of  that  law  had  been. ' 

The  case  now  before  us  is  recorded  to  show  that  vows  made  in  a 
rash  and  self-willed  spirit  are  not  binding.  It  is  quite  plain,  on  the 
face  of  the  narrative,  that  Saul  had  not  sufficient  information,  that  he 
acted  rashly,  and  in  a  self-willed  spirit :  and  it  was  most  unreasonable 
that  the  national  triumph  should  be  checked,  and  the  national  hero 
sacrificed,  because  Saul  spake  unadvisedly  with  his  lips.  If  the 
consequences  could  have  fallen  entirely  on  Saul,  who  made  the  vow, 
it  might  have  been  well  for  him  thus  to  learn  humility  and  prudence ; 
but  the  people  were  right  in  demanding  the  humiliation  of  the  king 
as  the  utterer  of  a  foolish  vow,  rather  than  the  sacrifice  of  the  king's 
son  by  the  keeping  of  a  rash  and  wicked  pledge. 

Vows  calmly  made  upon  due  consideration  ought  to  be  as  binding 

5—2 


68        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

as  legally  attested  deeds.  But  promises  made  hurriedly,  or  upon 
deceptive  or  insufficient  information,  cannot  be  absolutely  binding. 
A  man  is  always  at  liberty  to  withdraw  a  promise  which  has  been 
unfairly  or  hurriedly  obtained. 

Dante  has  the  following  lines  in  *  Paradise,'  v.  63-68. 

'  Take,  then,  no  vow  at  random  ;  ta'en  in  faith, 
Reserve  it ;  yet  not  bent,  as  Jephthah  once, 
Blindly  to  execute  a  rash  resolve. 
Whom  better  it  had  suited  to  exclaim, 
"  I  have  done  ill,"  than  to  redeem  his  pledge 
By  doing  worse.' 


Human  Sacrifices. 

GENESIS  xxii.  2  :  'Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  whom  thou  lovest,  even 
Isaac,  and  get  thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah  ;  and  offer  him  there  for  a  burnt 
offering  upon  one  of  the  mountains  which  I  will  tell  thee  of.' 

Difficulty. — Can  God  be  conceived  of  as  desiring  the  sacrifice  of 
human  life  ? 

Explanation. — It  is  specially  stated  that  what  God  did  on 
this  occasion  was  done  for  the  precise  purpose  of  tempting  or  testing 
the  Patriarch  :  and  it  may  well  have  been  that  God  required  an  act 
which  Abraham  felt  was  unlike  Him,  and  unworthy  of  the  thoughts 
he  had  hitherto  cherished  concerning  Him.  His  faith  and  obedience 
were  therefore  tested  by  the  very  fact  that  he  could  not  see  the  right- 
ness  of  what  he  was  required  to  do.  In  the  ordinary  scenes  of  home 
and  business  we  should  see  nothing  wrong  in  a  parent  or  a  master 
giving  a  command  which  he  did  not  mean  to  enforce,  but  designed 
only  to  be  a  means  of  testing  the  spirit  of  a  child  or  a  servant.  A 
simple  illustration  may  be  found  in  the  Christian  master  who  required 
his  apprentice  to  come  to  work  on  the  Sunday.  That  command 
seemed  to  the  Christian  apprentice  most  unworthy  of  his  Christian 
master.  But  it  effectively  tested  whether  that  youth  would  serve  God 
rather  than  man  when  man's  commands  conflicted  with  God's.  No 
one  would  say  that  such  a  master  committed  a  moral  wrong  by  thus 
making  himself  out  to  wish  what  he  did  not  really  wish,  for  the  sake 
of  testing  the  youth.  And  so,  we  need  not  think  of  God  as  intimating 
any  desire  for  human  sacrifices  because  He  tried  our  father  Abraham's 
obedient  trustfulness  by  making  a  strange  request. 

But  it  should  further  be  noticed  that  human  sacrifices  are  altogether 
unfamiliar,  and  even  utterly  revolting  to  us,  although  they  were  fami- 
liar enough  to  Abraham.  Our  increased  knowledge  of  Bible  lands 
and  times  has  brought  us  proofs  of  the  prevalence  of  the  custom  in 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES.  69 

very  various  countries,  some  of  them  countries  with  which  Abraham 
must  have  been  acquainted. 

Knobel  says  that  'human  sacrifices,  especially  of  children,  were 
customary  among  the  pre-Hebraic  nations  of  Palestine,  among  the 
kindred  Phoenicians,  among  their  descendants,  the  Carthaginians, 
among  the  Egyptians,  among  the  tribes  related  with  Israel,  the 
Moabites  and  Ammonites,  who  honoured  Moloch  with  them.  They 
appear  also  in  the  Aramaic  and  Arabian  tribes,  but  were  forbidden 
by  the  Jewish  law.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  shows  that  the  old  Accadians,  or  early  Turanian  in- 
habitants of  Chaldaea,  the  region  from  which  Abraham  came,  had 
adopted  the  practice  of  human  sacrifice  long  before  Abraham's  time. 
He  gives  the  following  old  Accadian  inscription  : — *  In  the  month 
Sivan,  from  the  first  day  to  the  thirtieth,  an  eclipse  failed,  (and)  the 
crops  of  the  land  were  not  prosperous.  When  tne  God  of  the  Air 
(atmosphere)  is  fine,  (then  there  is)  prosperity.  On  the  high  places 
the  son  is  burnt.' 

Nothing  better  can  be  said  on  this  incident  than  the  following 
sentences  of  F.  W.  Robertson :  '  Abraham  lived  in  a  country  where 
human  sacrifices  were  common  ;  he  lived  in  a  day  when  a  father's 
power  over  a  son's  life  was  absolute.  He  was  familiar  with  the  idea ; 
and  just  as  familiarity  with  slavery  makes  it  seem  less  horrible,  so 
familiarity  with  this  as  an  established  and  conscientious  mode  of 
worshipping  God  removed  from  Abraham  much  of  the  horror  that 
we  should  feel.' 

Limitation  of  Judgment  to  the  Sinner. 

DEUTERONOMY  xxiv.  16  :  '  The  fathers  shall  not  be  put  to  death  for  the  children, 
neither  shall  the  children  be  put  to  death  for  the  fathers  ;  every  man  shall  be  put 
to  death  for  his  own  sin.' 

Difficulty. — How  can  this  be  reconciled  with  such  cases  as  those  oj 
Korah  and  Achan^  where  the  families  appear  to  have  been  executed  with 
the  guilty  fathers  ? 

Explanation. — This  passage  is  a  part  of  the  rules  given  to 
judges  and  magistrates  for  the  ordering  of  their  decisions  and  sen- 
tences. As  magistrates  can  only  deal  with  crimes  so  far  as  they  are 
brought  home  to  the  criminals  by  adequate  testimony,  and  as  magis- 
trates must  never  act  upon  suppositions  and  assumptions,  and  have 
nothing  to  do  with  motives,  their  sentences  must  concern  the  indi- 
vidual criminal  alone.  A  magistrate  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
family  connections  of  a  prisoner.  He  is  not  a  judge  to  deal  with 
families  ;  his  work  is  absolutely  restricted  to  the  individual. 


70         HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

But  God,  the  Supreme  Ruler,  is  concerned  with  families,  with  men 
set  in  association  as  citizens  of  one  city,  or  members  of  one  tribe  or 
nation.  God  can  do  what  no  man  may  do  or  can  do.  He  can  punish 
the  individual  for  individual  transgression ;  the  family  for  family  sins 
committed  in  its  name  by  its  head;  and  the  whole  city,  tribe,  or 
nation  for  iniquities  done  by  its  officials  and  representatives  and 
leading  people.  Family  judgments  may  affect  the  family  for  genera- 
tions, as  did  the  judgment  on  Eli's  house.  National  judgments  may 
fall  on  successive  generations  of  the  race. 

The  distinction,  then,  is  this  :  Man  has  no  right  to  include  in  his 
judgments  anyone  but  the  criminal  himself.  God,  dealing  with  kinds 
of  sin  and  relations  of  sin  which  are  beyond  men's  apprehension,  can 
give  sentence  upon  families,  generations,  and  nations.  '  Though  God, 
the  sovereign  Lord  of  life,  sometimes  visits  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children,  especially  when  the  sin  is  idolatry,  and  when  He 
deals  with  nations  in  their  national  capacity,  yet  He  does  not  allow 
men  to  do  so.' 

This  direction  to  the  Hebrew  judges  was  the  more  necessary,  be 
cause  amongst  other  Oriental  nations  the  family  of  a  criminal  was- 
commonly  involved  in  his  punishment,  as  we  see  in  the  case  of 
Haman  (Esther  ix.  13,  14),  and  in  the  case  of  Daniel's  accusers 
(Dan.  vi.  24). 

Jeremiah's  Cursings. 

JEREMIAH  xx.  14,  15  :  '  Cursed  be  the  day  wherein  I  was  born  :  let  not  the  day 
wherein  my  mother  bare  me  be  blessed.  Cursed  be  the  man  who  brought  tidings 
to  my  father,  saying,  A  man  child  is  born  unto  thee  ;  making  him  very  glad.' 

Difficulty. — Is  it  possible  to  regard  such  intense  expressions  as 
these  as  uttered  sincerely  ;  and,  if  sincere,  could  any  man  be  justified  fa 
cherishing  such  feelings  ? 

Explanation. — They  were  sincere  to  the  particular  mood  of 
feeling ;  but  the  mood  of  feeling  was  a  wrong  and  a  bad  one.  It  re- 
presents what  has  been  wisely  called  'a  passionate  outbreak  of  human 
infirmity.'  With  this  passage  may  be  compared  the  answering  passages 
in  Job  iii.  3 ;  x.  18.  Keil  thinks  that  'Job's  words  are  more  violent 
and  passionate,  and  more  directly  directed  against  God  than 
Jeremiah's.' 

It  is  evident  that  verses  14-18  are  so  different  in  tone  and  character 
to  the  passage  preceding  them,  that  they  must  be  regarded  as  forming 
a  distinct  fragment  belonging  to  the  same  period,  and  placed  in  its 
present  position  by  Jeremiah  himself,  or  by  the  first  editor  of  his 
prophecies.  Ewald  suggested  that  their  more  natural  place  is  be- 


JEREMIAHS  CURSINGS.  71 

tween  verses  6  and  7.  Grotius  thinks  the  language  may  be  that  of 
Pashur,  against  whom  Jeremiah  had  uttered  a  severe  denunciation. 
Umbreit  thinks  the  verses  are  merely  inserted  here  by  the  prophet  as 
a  mirror  in  which  we  behold  the  image  of  his  deeply  wounded  spirit, 
previous  to  his  obtaining  the  deliverance  from  the  Lord,  which  he 
had  just  celebrated.  Henderson  remarks  that  similar  utterances  of 
stiong  feelings  of  grief,  in  which  the  day  of  one's  birth  is  execrated, 
are  so  common  in  the  East,  that  we  may  well  allow  the  originality  of 
the  prophet's  language. 

Thomson,  in  *  Land  and  Book,'  gives  a  very  common-sense  explana- 
tion of  such  extravagant  cursings.  Referring  to  the  cursing  of  Gilboa 
by  David,  because  Saul  and  Jonathan  had  perished  on  it,  he  says  : 
*  David's  poetical  imprecation  had  no  more  influence  upon  the  moun- 
tain, or  on  the  clouds,  than  had  Job's  malediction  upon  the  day  of 
his  birth  ;  nor  was  either  expected  to  produce  any  such  malign  effects. 
Similar  expressions  of  profound  sorrow  or  of  deep  displeasure  are 
common  in  the  East,  and  are  found  elsewhere  in  the  Bible.  The 
thought  is  natural,  and  who  is  there  that  has  not  indulged  it  ?  The 
child  vents  its  displeasure  upon  its  rattle ;  the  boy  strikes  the  stone 
against  which  he  stumb'es  ;  the  man  curses  adverse  winds,  and  every 
senseless  thing  that  annoys  him,  resists  his  will,  or  thwarts  his 
plans.' 

We  have  here  a  true  expression  of  Jeremiah's  mental  condition  ; 
but  of  his  state  of  mind  there  is  no  indication  of  the  Divine  approval, 
For  a  while  he  fluctuated  between  trust  in  God  and  despair.  To  be 
in  such  a  state  of  mental  conflict  was  not  in  itself  wrong :  wrong 
would  come  if  the  prophet  had  given  way  to  the  despair.  We  should 
always  carefully  distinguish  between  '  doubting  '  and  '  giving  way  to 
doubting.' 

Calvin,  however,  '  condemns  the  prophet  for  using  such  words,  and 
says  he  was  guilty  of  serious  sin  and  contumely  agains.t  God  in  thus 
cursing  the  day  of  his  birth  ;  but  so  far  excuses  him  that  it  was  not 
for  worldly  trouble,  such  as  that  which  raised  Job's  anger,  but  because 
the  Word  of  God  was  set  at  nought.' 

The  *  Speakers  Commentary '  adds  :  *  Yet  the  form  of  the  expres- 
sion is  fierce  and  indignant.  Possibly  Jeremiah  did  imagine  that  he 
had  neither  met  with  that  outward  respect,  nor  with  that  measure  of 
success,  and  even  of  acceptance  with  God,  which  had  encouraged 
other  prophets.  No  miracle  had  ever  given  proof  of  his  authority  to 
speak  in  Jehovah's  name ;  no  prediction  had  as  yet  been  verified. 
Such  thoughts  were  wrong  and  sinful,  and  the  impatience  of  Jeremiah 
is  that,  part  of  his  character  which  is  most  open  to  blame.  Though 


72        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

we  admire  him  as  a  man  who,  in  spite  of  opposition  from  without, 
and  the  despondency  of  his  own  natural  disposition,  always  did  his 
duty,  yet  he  attains  not  to  the  level  of  the  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament.  Still  less  does  he  reach  to  that  elevation  which  is  set 
before  us  by  Him  Who  is  the  perfect  pattern  of  all  righteousness. 
Our  Lord  was  a  prophet  Whose  mission  to  the  men  of  His  generation 
equally  failed,  and  His  sorrow  was  even  more  deep.  But  it  broke 
forth  in  no  imprecations.  "  Jesus  beheld  the  city,  and  wept  over  it, 
saying,  If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this  thy  day  " 
(Luke  xix.  41,  42).' 

Dean  Plumptrc  says  :  '  The  question  whether  we  are  to  blame  or 
palliate  such  utterances,  how  far  they  harmonize  with  Christian  feel- 
ing, is  one  on  which  we  need  not  dwell  long.  It  is  enough  to  note 
(i)  that  while  we  cannot  make  for  them  the  half-evasive  apology 
which  sees  in  Jeremiah's  prayers  against  his  enemies,  and  in  the  im- 
precatory psalms,  prophecies  rather  than  prayers,  they  indicate  the 
same  temper  as  those  psalms  and  prayers  indicate  when  taken  in  their 
natural  sense,  and  so  help  us  to  understand  them  ;  and  (2)  that  in 
such  cases,  while  we  give  thanks  that  we  have  the  blessing  of  a  higher 
law,  and  the  example  of  a  higher  life,  we  are  not  called  upon  to 
apportion  praise  or  blame.  It  is  enough  to  reverence,  to  sympathize, 
to  be  silent.' 

Saul's  Over-Anxious  Haste. 

I  SAMUEL  xiii.  8,  9 :  '  And  he  tarried  seven  days,  according  to  the  set  time  that 
Samuel  had  appointed  :  but  Samuel  came  not  to  Gilgal  :  and  the  people  were 
scattered  from  him.  And  Saul  said,  Bring  hither  the  burnt  offering  to  me,  and 
the  peace  offerings.  And  he  offered  the  burnt  offering.' 

Question. — Do  not  the  exigencies  of  the  occasion  fairly  excuse  this 
self-willed  act  of  Saul's  ? 

Answer. — No  exigencies  can  excuse  determined  disobedience  to 
recognised  authority ;  but  every  act  should  be  judged  in  the  light  of 
its  surrounding  circumstances,  and  in  view  of  the  character  which 
such  an  act  serves  to  reveal.  It  may  be  suspected  that  a  man  is 
wilful,  unrestrained,  and  really  self-seeking,  but  it  may  be  years  before 
he  does  anything  which  shows  up  his  bad  character,  and  gives  us  no 
doubt  of  his  untrustworthiness  ;  and  the  revealing  act  may  be  a  very 
small  and  simple  matter — a  *  straw,'  which  nevertheless  suffices  to 
show  'in  which  way  the  wind  blows.'  Samuel  had  his  fears  about 
Saul,  who  was  disposed  to  over-estimate  his  office  as  king,  and  tried 
to  get  free  of  the  obligations  and  limitations  properly  belonging  to 
him  as  only  the  prince  or  vicegerent  of  Jehovah,  the  true  King  of 


SA  UL'S  O  VER-ANX1O  US  HASTE.  7  3 

srael.     But  Samuel  could  say  nothing  and  do  nothing  until  Saul,  by 
ome  overt  acts,  plainly  showed  his  masterful  spirit. 

The  position  in  which  Saul  was  placed  was  certainly  a  very  trying 
me.  'The  panic  which  pervaded  all  Israel  was  every  hour  thinning 
he  host  Saul  had  gathered  round  him  at  Gilgal.  The  martial  king 
onged  for  a  chance  of  joining  battle ;  and  this  he  was  forbidden  to 
lo  until  the  seer  had  offered  sacrifice  and  publicly  inquired  of  the 
^ord ;  and  the  day  passed  by,  and  Samuel  came  not.  An  attack  on 
he  part  of  the  Philistine  army,  encamped  at  no  great  distance,  seemed 
mminent,  and  Saul's  forces  were  rapidly  melting  away.'  There  is  no 
occasion  for  assuming  that  the  king  claimed  the  rights  and  did  the 
iuties  of  the  priests  himself.  A  king  is  often  said  to  do  what  his 
servants  do  in  his  name  and  at  his  command ;  but  of  such  acts  he 
Dears  the  full  responsibility. 

Canon  Spence  gives  the  following  valuable  note  in  '  Ellicotfs  Com- 
mentary'''.— *  On  this  memorable  occasion  the  king  plainly  told  Samuel 
that,  though  he  would  gratefully  receive  any  help  which  the  prophet 
of  the  Most  High  could  and  would  bring  him,  still,  in  an  emergency 
like  the  present,  sooner  than  run  any  risk,  he  preferred  to  act  alone, 
and,  if  necessary,  to  go  into  battle  without  Divine  consecration  and 
blessing.  The  danger  at  this  juncture  was  imminent ;  to  ward  it  off, 
he  considered  that  the  direct  Divine  intimation  which  he  allowed  he 
had  received  through  Samuel  must  be  disregarded.  Acting  upon  this 
persuasion,  he  set  it  aside,  acting  according  to  the  ordinary  dictates 
of  worldly  prudence.  He  must,  in  his  action  at  Gilgal,  either  have 
forgotten  or  disbelieved  the  story  of  the  Joshua  conquest,  and  of  the 
single  deliverances  under  the  hero  Judges,  when  the  Glorious  Arm 
fought  by  the  people,  and  splendid  successes  were  won  in  the  face  of 
enormous  odds  through  the  intervention  of  no  mortal  aid.  Saul 
might  have  been,  and  was,  a  valiant  and  skilful  general,  but  was  no 
fitting  viceroy  of  the  invisible  King  in  heaven,  Who  required  from 
him  before  all  things  the  most  ardent,  unquestioning  faith.  Saul  and 
his  house,  it  is  too  clear,  would  only  rule  the  Israel  of  God  according 
to  the  dictates  of  their  own  haughty  will.' 

Dean  Stanley  skilfully  brings  out  the  precise  point  of  Saul's  failure 
on  this  occasion,  and  shows  how  this  act  became  a  revelation  of  his 
character  : — '  Of  all  the  checks  on  the  dangers  incident  to  the  growth 
of  an  Oriental  monarchy  in  the  Jewish  nation,  the  most  prominent 
was  that  which  Providence  supplied  in  the  contemporaneous  growth 
of  the  prophetical  office.  But  it  was  just  this  far-reaching  vision  of 
the  past  and  future  which  Saul  was  unable  to  understand.  At  the 
very  outset  of  his  career  Samuel,  the  great  representative  of  the  pro- 


74        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

phetical  order,  had  warned  him  not  to  enter  on  his  kingly  duties  til 
the  prophet  should  appear  to  inaugurate  them,  and  to  instruct  hin 
in  them.  It  would  seem  to  have  been  almost  immediately  after  hi 
first  call  that  the  occasion  arose.  The  war  with  the  Philistines  wa 
impending.  He  could  not  restrain  the  vehemence  of  his  religiou 
emotions.  As  king,  he  had  the  right  to  sacrifice.  Without  a  sacrific 
it  seemed  to  him  impossible  to  advance  to  battle.  He  sacrificed,  an< 
by  that  ritual  zeal  defied  the  warning  of  the  prophetic  monitor.  I 
was  the  crisis  of  his  trial.  He  had  shown  that  he  could  not  undei 
stand  the  distinction  between  moral  and  ceremonial  duty,  on  whici 
the  greatness  of  his  people  depended.  It  was  not  because  he  sacr; 
ficed,  but  because  he  thought  sacrifice  greater  than  obedience,  tha 
the  curse  descended  upon  him.'* 

Putting  away  Strange  Wives. 

EZRA  x.  17  :  'And  they  made  an  end  with  all  the  men  that  had  married  strang 
women  by  the  first  day  of  the  first  month.' 

Question. —  Was  not  the  removal  of  so  many  women  and  childre 
to  want,  struggle,  and  misery,  a  far  greater  evil  than  retaining  thei 
in  contradiction  to  the  spirit  of  Mosaic  regulations? 

Answer. — We  must  always  carefully  distinguish  between  an  exac 
and  truthful  account  of  events  that  have  happened  and  the  Divin 
approval  of  the  things  that  have  been  done.  Very  serious  difficultie 
are  created  by  the  too  generally  approved  sentiment,  that  if  a  thin 
is  recorded  in  Scripture  we  are  to  understand  that  it,  and  its  doen 
were  acceptable  to  God.  The  sentiment  needs  only  to  be  thus  plainl 
stated,  and  its  incorrectness  and  unworthiness  are  at  once  revealec 
Scripture  is  inspired  as  a  truthful  record ;  we  must  study  its  contenl 
in  the  light  of  its  declared  principles,  and  we  must  compare  scriptui 
with  scripture,  if  we  would  form  a  right  judgment  of  the  moral  qualit 
of  actions  done. 

No  doubt  Ezra  acted  according  to  his  light,  and  in  view  of  wh< 
he  understood  God's  law  to  require.  But  if  we  judge  his  action  i 
our  larger  light,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that  he  tried  to  remove  a  con 

*  A  peculiarity  in  the  arrangements  made  for  going  to  war  in  anciei 
times  helps  further  to  explain  the  pressure  put  upon  Saul.  There  was  no  state 
army  in  those  days,  but  each  tribe  furnished  a  contingent  of  soldiers  ;  these  we. 
men  taken  from  their  daily  work  for  a  limited  time,  and  each  man  furnished  hin 
self  with  the  necessary  food  for  his  few  days'  absence  from  home.  When  his  tin 
expired,  and  his  food  was  exhausted,  he  would  feel  at  liberty  to  return  home, 
is  said  that  the  people  'followed  Saul  trembling,' and  that  he  saw  they  we 
'  getting  scattered  from  him.'  Putting  these  expressions  together,  we  may  assun 
that  the  delay  in  joining  battle  was  causing  so  many  desertions  that  the  soldie 
left  were  trembling  at  the  prospect  of  war  under  such  disadvantageous  conditions 


PUTTING  AWAY  STRANGE   WIVES.  75 

iratively  small  wrong,  by  doing  a  much  greater  wrong  The  lar- 
iating to  the  marriage  of  strange  wives  was  a  doubtful  one;  its 
-ecise  application  cannot  be  assured ;  it  had  for  many  long  years 
sen  practically  annulled,  and  its  revival  at  this  particular  time  was 
needless  cruelty  to  the  many  women  who  had  been  brought  into 
latrimonial  bonds  without  any  knowledge  of  wrong-doing.  If  nny- 
ody  was  punished,  Ezra  should  have  punished  the  men,  not  the  poor 
omen  and  children.  It  is  very  significant  that  no  prophet-voice 
rought  the  command  of  God  to  put  away  the  wives,  and  the  narrative 
ontains  no  indication  whatever  of  the  Divine  pleasure  in  the  act.  It 
•as  done  as  an  outburst  of  pious  zeal,  but  it  was  zeal  without  know- 
idge  and  without  wisdom. 

The  ' Speaker's  Commentary'  admits  that,  'according  to  the  letter 
f  the  law,  marriage  with  the  Canaanite  nations  was  alone  forbidden; 
>ut  it  came  to  be  generally  felt  that  the  principle  of  the  prohibition 
xtended  to  all  neighbouring  idolaters.'  We  must  not,  however, 
hus  readily  confound  what  '  people  felt '  with  what  '  God  required 
.nd  commanded.' 

Dean  Stanley  gives  such  an  estimate  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  as 
eformers  as  enables  us  to  estimate  correctly  the  value  of  such  a 
;cheme  as  this  of  putting  away  the  foreign  wives,  permitting  us  to  class 
t  among  acts  of  fanaticism  rather  than  of  faith.  '  Ezra  and  Nehemiah 
for  in  some  respects  they  are  inseparable)  are  the  very  impersona- 
.ions  of  that  quality  which  Goethe  described  as  the  characteristic  by 
.vhich  their  race  has  maintained  its  place  before  the  judgment-seat  of 
G^od  and  of  history — the  impenetrable  toughness  and  persistency 
A'hich  constitute  their  real  strength  as  the  reformers  of  their  people. 
Reformers  in  the  noblest  sense  of  that  word  they  were  not.  There 
is  not,  as  in  the  first  or  second  Isaiah,  as  in  Jeremiah  or  Ezekiel,  a 
far-reaching  grasp  of  the  future,  or  a  penetration  into  the  eternal 
principles  of  the  human  heart  They  moved  within  a  narrow,  rigid 
sphere.  They  aimed  at  limited  objects.  They  were  the  parents  of  the 
various  divisions  which  henceforth  divided  Palestine  into  parties  and 
sects.  They  were — by  the  same  paradox  according  to  which  it  is  truly 
said  that  the  Royalist  Prelates  of  the  English  Restoration  originated 
Nonconformity — the  parents  of  the  Samaritan  secession.  They  in 
augurated  in  their  covenants  and  their  curses  that  fierce  exclusiveness 
which  in  the  later  years  burned  with  a  '  zeal  not  according  to  know- 
ledge '  in  the  hearts  of  those  wild  assassins  who  bound  themselves 
together  with  a  curse  not  to  eat  bread  or  drink  water  till  they  had 
slain  the  greatest  of  their  countrymen  (Actsxxiii.  21) — of  those  zealots 
who  fought  with  desperate  tenacity  with  each  other  and  with  their 


76        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

foes  in  defence  of  the  walls  which  Nehemiah  had  raised.     But  withi 
that  narrow  sphere   Ezra  and  Nehemiah  were  the  models  of  goo< 
reformers.     They  set  before  themselves  special  tasks  to  accomplish 
and  special  evils  to  remedy,  and  in  the  doing  of  this  they  allowe< 
no  secondary  or  subsidiary  object  to  turn  them  aside.     They  aske< 
of  their  countrymen  to  undertake  no  burdens,  no  sacrifices,  whicl 
they  did  not  themselves  share.     They  filled  the  people  with  a  ne\ 
enthusiasm,  because  they  made  it  clear  that  they  felt  it  themselves.' 
Dean  Stanley's  judgment  of  the  instance  of  overdone  zeal  whicl 
we  are  now  considering  is  so  full  and  so  wise  that  we  cannot  with 
hold  it,  especially  as  we  find  so  few  other  Bible  writers  deal  fairl; 
with  the  difficulties  which  the  narrative  suggests.     Ezra  *  was  a  scrib 
first   and  a  priest  afterwards.     The   Temple  was  an  object  of  hi 
veneration.     But  it  was  nothing  compared  to  the  "  Law."     And  thi 
vehemence  of  his  attachment  to  it  is  the  more  strongly  brought  ou 
by   the   comparatively  trivial,   and   in  some   respects   questionable 
occasion  that  called  it  forth.     It  was  the  controversy  which,  fron 
this  time  forward,  was  to  agitate  in  various  forms  the  Jewish  com 
munity  till  its  religious  life  was  broken  asunder — its  relation  to  th( 
heathen  population  around.     It  may  be  that  at  that  time  the  larger 
nobler,  freer  views  which  belonged  to  the  earlier  and  also  to  the  late 
portion  of  the  Jewish  history  were  impossible.     There  had  not  beei 
the  faintest  murmur  audible  when  the  ancestors  of  David  once  am 
again  married  into  a  Moabite  family,  nor  when  David  took  amongs 
his  wives  a  daughter  of  Geshur;    nor  is  there  a  more  exuberan 
Psalm  than  that  which  celebrates  the  union  of  an  Israelite  king  will 
an  Egyptian  or  Tyrian  princess.     Even  if  the  patriarchal  alliance  o 
Abraham  with  the  Egyptian  Hagar  or  the  Arabian  Keturah,  or  th( 
marriage  of  Moses  with  the  Midianite  or  the  Ethiopian,  provoked  i 
passing  censure,  it  was  instantly  and  strongly  repelled  by  the  loftiei 
tone  of  the  sacred  narrative.     Nor  is  there  in  the  New  Testament  i 
passage  more  redolent  of  acknowledged  wisdom  and  charity  than  thai 
in  which  the  Rabbi  of  Tarsus  tolerates  the  union  of  the  heather 
husband  and  the  believing  wife.    Nor  are  there  more  critical  incident1 
in  Christian  history  than  those  which  record  the  consequences  which 
flowed  from  the  union  of  Clovis  with  Clotilda,  or  of  Ethelbert  with 
Bertha.     But  it  was  the  peculiarity  of  the  age  through  which  the 
religion  of  Israel  was  now  passing,  that  to  the  more  keenly  strung 
susceptibilities  of  the  nation  every  approach  to  the  external  world 
was  felt  as  a  shock  and  pollution.     The  large  freedom  of  Isaiah 
....  was  gone ;  the  charity  oi  Paul,  and  of  a  Greater  than  Paul, 
had  not  arisen.     The  energy  of  Deborah  and  of  Elijah  remained  . 


PUTTING  AWAY  STRANGE   WIVES.  77 

t  for  the  present  generation  it  was  destined  to  fight,  not  against  a 
lei  oppressor  or  an  immoral  worship,  but  against  the  sanctities  of 
mestic  union  with  their  neighbour  tribes — dangerous,  possibly,  in 
3ir  consequences,  but  innocent  in  themselves.  We  are  called  upon 
bestow  an  admiration,  genuine  but  limited,  on  a  zeal  which  reminds 
of  Dunstan  and  Hildebrand,  rather  than  of  the  Primitive  or  the 
.•forming  Church. 

'  All  these  had  taken  strange  wives,  and  some  of  them  had  wives 
whom  they  had  children.'  With  these  dry  words  Ezra  winds  up 
s  narrative  of  the  signal  victory  which  he  had  attained  over  the 
.tural  affections  of  the  whole  community — a  victory  doubtless  which 
;d  its  share  in  keeping  alive  the  spirit  of  exclusive  patriotism  and 
uncompromising  zeal  that  was  to  play  at  times  so  brilliant  and  at 
nes  so  dark  a  part  in  the  coming  period  of  Jewish  history,  but 
riich,  in  its  total  absence  of  human  tenderness,  presents  a  dismal 
mtrast  to  that  pathetic  passage  of  the  primitive  records  of  their 
ce,  which  tells  us  how,  when  their  first  father  drove  out  the  foreign 
mdmaid  with  her  son  into  the  desert,  it  '  was  very  grievous  in  his 
ght,'  and  '  he  rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  and  took  bread,  and  a 
ater-skin,  putting  it  on  her  shoulder,  and  the  child ;'  and  how  *  God 
eard  the  voice  of  the  lad,  and  the  angel  of  God  called  to  Hagar  out 
f  heaven.' 

Kitto  says :  *  There  is  no  question  that  such  a  wholesale  divorce 
iroughout  the  land  is  repugnant  to  our  notions,  and  appears  to  us 
wfully,  if  not  needlessly,  severe.  We  are  not  bound  to  consider 
lat  because  this  was  done  by  Ezra  it  was  absolutely  right.  There 
lay  have  been  something  in  it  of  that  overstraining  of  the  law  to 
•hich  the  Jews,  after  the  captivity,  became  prone;  and  it  may  be 
.iat  this  example,  under  the  authority  of  a  personage  so  deservedly 
enerable  as  Ezra,  tended  to  furnish  a  precedent  for  that  readiness  m 
dvorcing  their  wives,  for  which  the  Jews  were,  in  our  Lord's  time, 
.otorious.  It  is  clear  to  us  that  Moses  meant  only  to  interdict  inter- 
aarriages  with  the  devoted  nations  of  Canaan;  and,  in  extending  the 
nterdiction  to  all  foreigners,  a  step  was  taken  towards  that  rigorous 
nterpretation  of  the  law  which  began  from  this  time  to  prevail,  and 
vrhich  can  only  be  explained  by  the  aversion  and  profound  dread 
vith  which  idolatry  was  regarded  by  the  Jewish  people  after  the 
:aptivity. 


HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


The  Law  of  the  Divine   Mercy. 

I  KINGS  xxi.  29  :  '  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Elijah  the  Tishbite,  s 
ing,  Seest  thou  how  Ahab  humbleth  himself  before  me?  Because  he  humbl 
himself  before  me,  I  will  not  bring  the  evil  in  his  days  ;  but  in  his  son's  days  \ 
I  bring  the  evil  upon  his  house.'  (See  another  paragraph  on  this  passage,  d'eal 
with  the  transference  of  Ahab's  judgment  to  his  descendants,  p.  80.) 

Question. — Is  the  Divine  mercy  to  be  regarded  as  dependent  on  , 
moral  condition  of  individuals  ? 

Answer. — Ahab,  as  the  King  of  Israel,  represented  the  rebelli 
•of  the  nation  against  Jehovah,  the  true  King  of  Israel ;  and  t 
rebellion  brought  from  Jehovah  a  call  to  national  repentance,  anc 
threatening  of  national  judgments  if  the  people  did  not  repent.     I 
the  doubt  might  arise,  whether  God  would  be  merciful  if  the  nati 
did  change  its  mind,  and  return  from  its  idolatrous  and  wickecl  wa 
How,  in  those  days,  could  such  a  doubt  be  met  better  than  by  setti 
before  the  people  a  prominent  case  as  a  specimen  and  illustratio 
Let  the  ca^e  be  that  of  the  chief  person  in  the  realm.     Let  everybo 
.see  how  God  will  deal  with  Ahab.     He  sinned  grievously  in  t 
matter  of  Naboth.     Special  threatenings  of  Divine  judgment  car 
upon  him.     He  humbled  himself  before  God  :  and  God  did  respoi 
to  his  better  mind,  and  was  gracious  to  hold  over  awhile  the  thre, 
ened  judgments.     In  this  way  God  established  the  fact  of  His  suprer 
anxiety  concerning  the  *  right  mind/  the  good  moral  character ;  sho 
ing  the  production  of  such  character  to  be  the  end  and  purpose 
His  judgments,  and  plainly  indicating  that  the  judgments  need  nev 
descend,  if  the  desired  end  can  be  accomplished  apart  from  thei 
All  Divine  threatenings  and  judgments  are  necessary  means  to  secu 
definite  ends.     They  are  never  used  if  the  ends  can  be  otherwi 
attained.     The  judgments  need  never  fall,  if  the  threatenings  suffic 

Bishop  Wordsworth,  observing  that  Ahab's  repentance  was  onlysupt 
ficial  and  temporary,  inquires  whether  the  purposes  of  God,  Who  h; 
just  before  denounced  the  heaviest  woes  on  Ahab,  could  be  change 
by  such  a  show  of  repentance  as  that.  As  an  answer  the  Bishop  sugges 
that  God  '  deals  with  men  exactly  as  they  deal  with  Him ;  He  met 
to  them  according  to  their  own  measure.'  God's  dealings  with  Ah; 
were  exactly  proportioned  and  adjusted  to  Ahab's  own  conduct.  1 
a.  temporary  and  superficial  repentance,  God  adapted  a  punishmer 
modified  by  certain  temporary  and  local  incidents.  He  gave  him 
promise  of  a  prorogation  of  temporal  punishment  in  this  world,  bi 
He  gave  him  no  promise  of  remission  of  future  and  eternal  punis 
inent,  which  is  the  proper  penalty  of  sin,  God  thus  showed  that  H 


'BORROW  OR  ^BEG:  79 

ies  not  overlook  any  effort,  however  feeble,  toward  repentance.  He 
compassionate  and  merciful;  'He  cherishes  the  least  sparks  of 
todness  in  anyone.'  If  a  real  contrition  is  manifested  in  act,  then 
e,  Who  does  not  despise  even  the  slightest  external  symptom  of 
pentance,  will  certainly  accept  and  reward  it. 

*  Borrow'  or  'Beg/ 

EXODUS  iii.  21,  22  :  '  And  I  will  give  this  people  favour  in  the  sight  of  the 
jyptians  :  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that,  when  ye  go,  ye  shall  not  go  empty  : 
it  every  woman  shall  ask  of  her  neighbour,  and  of  her  that  sojourneih  in  her 
mse,  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of  gold,  and  raiment  :  and  ye  shall  put  them 
>on  your  sons  and  upon  your  daughters  ;  and  ye  shall  spoil  the  Egyptians '  (Rev. 
er.).  The  Auth.  Ver.  reads  *  borrow.' 

Difficulty. —  Can  this  receiving  without  any  intention  of  returning 
'  explained  or  justified  by  any  customs  of  the  age,  or  special  circum- 
ances  connected  mith  the  events  thus  foretold  to  Moses? 

Explanation. — The  apparent  dishonesty  of  thus  'borrowing' 
:id  intending  to  keep  has  been  made  much  of  by  those  who  attack 
te  morality  of  the  Old  Testament ;  but  the  Revisers  have  now  sealed 
le  very  satisfactory  explanation  which  has  often  been  given,  that  the 
ord  translated  'borrow'  really  means  'ask'  or  'beg';  and  so  the 
sraelites  in  fact  received  these  jewels  as  gifts,  and  not  as  loans  ;  the 
latter  being  perfectly  honourable  and  straightforward  on  both  sides. 

But  as  such  lavish  presentations  of  household  property  seem  very 
trange  to  our  modern  and  Western  notions,  the  incident  may  be 
arefully  studied  in  the  light  of  our  knowledge  of  ancient  times  and 
Eastern  lands. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  Moses  had  demanded  liberty  for  the 
eople  of  Israel  to  go  three  days'  journey  into  the  desert  districts,  in 
rder  to  hold  a  great  festival  in  honour  of  Jehovah,  their  God.  This 
/as  the  distinct  form  of  their  demand,  and  this  was  what  the  Egyptian 
eople  understood  them  to  wish.  But  when  the  Orientals  go  to 
estiva],  they  always  put  on  their  best  dresses  and  jewels.  They 
;ould  quite  understand  the  request  of  the  Israelite  women  for  jewels 
.nd  raiment  to  go  to  their  festival  in ;  and  though,  if  the  request  had 
jeen  made  before  the  plagues  and  the  death  of  the  first-born  had 
mmbled  and  affrighted  the  Egyptian  women,  they  would  have 
efused  it,,  and  probably  added  insults ;  with  their  children  dead  in 
heir  houses,  and  in  their  alarm  at  what  possible  calamities  might 
,till  hang  over  them,  they  were  glad  enough  to  give  jewels  and  any- 
hins;  else,  if  only  these  dreadful  Israelites  could  be  got  rid  of  out  of 
.he  land. 


8o       HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Some  writers,  as  Kitto,  think  the  Israelites  may  have  been  directe 
to  ask  that  the  payment  of  what  was  due  to  them  might  be  made 
light  and  valuable  articles,  suitable  for  convenient  carriage  in  tl 
approaching  journey.  But  this  cannot  be  accepted,  because  tl 
demand  was  made,  not  by  the  men  of  those  who  employed  them  i 
the  brickyards  and  the  fields,  but  by  the  women  of  the  Egyptis 
women ;  and  the  gift  of  the  jewels  was  made  under  the  impulse  • 
the  excitement  produced  by  the  universal  death  of  the  first-bor: 
which  would  fill  the  women  with  passionate  and  unrestrained  grief. 

One  point  of  difficulty  remains.  Hebrew  women  would  only  ha\ 
access  to  comparatively  poor  Egyptian  women ;  then  how  came  sue 
women  to  be  possessed  of  such  jewels  and  rich  clothing  ?  As  thei 
are  no  banks  in  the  East  where  money  can  be  safely  stored,  it  is  quit 
customary  for  those  who  have  saved  to  invest  their  savings  in  jewel 
which  are  easily  carried  about ;  and  the  safest  place  for  the  keepir 
of  these  jewels  is  on  their  wives'  persons  :  an  Eastern  married  woma 
is  usually  overloaded  with  jewellery ;  *  the  wife  of  a  tradesman,  or  of 
dragoman,  is  often  in  possession  of  bracelets  and  collars  of  gol 
which  in  Europe  would  indicate  wealth  or  high  station.' 

'  Asking  for  presents  is  a  common  practice  in  the  East,  and  persor 
who  were  quitting  their  homes  to  set  out  on  a  long  journey  throug 
a  strange  country  would  have  abundant  excuse,  if  any  had  bee 
needed,  for  soliciting  aid  from  their  richer  neighbours.' 

Transference  of  Divine  Judgment  to  Descendants. 

I  KINGS  xxi.  29  :  '  Because  he  humbleth  himself  before  me,  I  will  not  bring  th 
evil  in  his  days  ;  but  in  his  son's  days  will  I  bring  the  evil  upon  his  house.' 

Question. — Can  the  righteousness  of  God,  in  thus  removing  t) 
judgments  on  a  man's  sins  to  his  children,  be  vindicated  ? 

Answer. — The  sin  which  Elijah  denounced  was  not  the  privat 
sin  of  an  individual,  but  the  public  sin  of  a  ruler.  The  murder  c 
Naboth  was  not  a  private  assassination,  but  an  execution  through  th 
abuse  of  the  forms  of  public  law.  It  was  also  the  act  of  Ahab 
house — a  family  act,  which  the  mother  devised  and  carried  through 
and  the  father  virtually  approved  by  accepting  what  was  gained  by  i 
Elijah  deals  with  it,  therefore,  as  a  dynastic  sin,  which  must  be  nu 
by  a  dynastic  punishment. 

With  the  personal  punishment  of  Ahab  Elijah  is  not  so  much  cor 
cerned  as  with  the  judgment  of  Ahab's  house,  or  dynasty,  whos 
iniquity  was  now  abundantly  illustrated ;  this  last  public  injustic 
made  their  '  cup  run  over.'  A  man  is  punished  for  his  sins  as  e> 


TRANSFERENCE  OF  DIVINE  JUDGMENT.        81 

pressions  of  his  character ;  a  family  is  punished  for  the  sins  of  its 
father  and  head ;  and  a  kingdom  is  punished  for  the  sins  of  its  ruler, 
who  is  regarded  as  its  representative.  Unless  we  can  clearly  see  the 
distinction  between  race  judgments,  national  judgments,  dynastic 
judgments,  and  personal  judgments,  very  much  of  the  Divine  dealing 
with  men  must  seem  to  us  confused  and  confusing. 

Judgment  must  come  on  families  and  on  communities  for  the  world's 
sake,  as  part  of  the  moral  training  of  the  race.  And  no  better  warn- 
ing of  the  evil  of  sin  can  be  given  than  is  found  in  the  fact  that  a 
man  cannot  keep  his  sin  to  himself.  If  he  sins  as  a  father,  he  involves 
his  children.  If  he  sins  as  a  king,  he  involves  his  people.  In  no 
other  way  could  God  so  effectually  show  the  evil  of  sin  to  the  mass 
of  humanity. 

Elijah's  curse  bore  relation  to  the  sin  of  the  royal  house,  so  it  fell 
on  the  royal  house.  But  the  son  on  whom  it  fell  was  in  full  sym- 
pathy with  the  schemes  and  spirit  of  Ahab's  dynasty,  and  fully  main- 
tained its  traditions.  And  it  should  be  carefully  noticed,  that  all 
race  judgments  and  national  judgments  are  limited  to  events  hap- 
pening in  this  earth's  sphere.  Nothing  is  told  us  concerning  the 
relations  of  God  to  bad  kings  in  the  eternal  world.  There  they  are 
but  men,  and  motive,  will,  intention,  are  all  duly  appraised. 

There  is  a  difficulty  as  to  the  fulfilment  of  Elijah's  curse  on  Ahab 
and  on  his  son,  which  the  '  Speaker's  Commentary '  efficiently  removes. 
(See  verse  19;  and  2  Kings  ix.  26.)  'It  may  be  asked,  How  was 
this  prophecy  fulfilled,  since  the  dogs  licked  Ahab's  blood,  not  in 
Jezreel,  but  in  Samaria  ?  (i  Kings  xxii.  38).  The  answer  seems  to 
be  that  the  prophecy  had  a  double  fulfilment.  The  main  fulfilment; 
was  by  the  casting  of  the  dead  body  of  Jehoram  into  Naboth's  plot 
of  ground  at  Jezreel,  where,  like  Naboth's,  it  was  left  for  the  dogs  to 
eat  (2  Kings  ix.  25).  This  spot,  which  was  just  outside  the  city  wall, 
and  close  to  a  gate,  was  probably  the  actual  scene  of  Naboth's  exe- 
cution. Here,  "  in  the  place  where  dogs  licked  the  blood  of  Naboth,'' 
did  dogs  lick  Ahab's  blood,  that  is,  his  son's  blood,  the  execution 
of  the  full  retaliatory  sentence  having  been  deferred  to  the  days  of 
his  son,  formally  and  explicitly,  on  Ahab's  repentance.  But,  beside 
this,  there  was  a  secondary  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy,  when,  not  at 
Jezreel,  but  at  Samaria,  the  actual  blood  of  Ahab  himself,  notwith- 
standing the  promise  made  him  en  his  repentance,  was  licked  b/ 
dogs  (i  Kings  xxii.  38),  only  in  a  way  that  implied  no  disgrace.' 

The  point  of  the  explanation  given  above,  that  God  deals  with 
dynasties  by  inflicting  dynastic  judgments,  may  be  further  illustrated 
by  such  passages  as  i  Kings  xiii.  34 ;  2  Kings  x.  30,  etc. 

6 


82        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Sojourn  in  Moab,  and  Wives  of  Moab. 

RUTH  i.  i,  3,  4,  5  :  '  And  a  certain  man  of  Beth-lehem-judah  went  to  sojourn 
in  the  country  of  Moab,  he,  and  his  wife,  and  his  two  sons.  And  Elimelech, 
Naomi's  husband,  died  :  and  she  was  left,  and  her  two  sons.  And  they  took  them 
wives  of  the  women  of  Moab.  And  Mahlon  and  Chilion  died  also,  both  of  them.' 

Difficulty. — Did  not  Elimelech  sin  in  going  to  Moab,  and  his  sons 
sin  in  marrying  women  of  Moab  ?  And  were  not  the  calamities  which 
came  judgments  on  their  sins? 

Explanation. — There  seems  to  be  good  reason  f<?7  thinking  that 
the  sojourn  in  Moab  was  a  matter  of  sheer  necessity,  the  best  possible 
action  in  circumstances  of  extreme  difficulty.  It  was  not  the  best 
thing,  that  would  have  been  to  have  waited  on  God,  and  waited  for 
God,  in  a  time  of  sore  need  and  perplexity.  But  it  was  the  next 
best  thing,  especially  when,  for  the  sake  of  the  flocks  and  herds, 
something  must  be  done  at  once.  We  need  not  assume,  on  Elime- 
lech's  part,  a  wilful  disobedience,  but  only  a  failure  from  the  higher 
trust  in  God,  which  is  always  for  men  a  difficult  attainment.  He 
was  wrong  by  pressure  of  necessity,  rather  than  in  wilfulness. 

S.  Cox,  the  well-known  expositor,  meets  the  question,  Why  did 
Elimelech  select  Moab  for  his  sojourn  ?  *  The  usual  resort  of  the 
clans  of  Canaan  and  its  vicinity  in  time  of  famine  was  Egypt.  Why, 
then,  did  not  Elimelech,  like  his  great  forefathers,  either  go  or  send 
down  to  Egypt  for  corn  ? 

*  The  probability  is  that  he  would  have  sent  or  gone  if  the  road  to 
Egypt  had  not  been  closed.     All  the  notes  of  time  in  the  Book  of 
Ruth  imply  that  it  was  while  the  venerable  but  miserable  Eli  was 
judge  that  Elimelech  resolved  to  leave  his  ancestral  fields :  and  while 
Eli  was  judge  there  was  perpetual  war  with  Philistia.     When  the 
Philistines  heard  that  the  tribes  of  Israel  were  oppressed  by  famine, 
they  would  be  sure  to  guard  the  high  road  to  Egypt,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent their  famishing  foes  from  procuring  supplies  from  the  vast  public 
granaries  of  that  opulent  and  powerful  empire.' 

*  Was  it  wrong  of  Elimelech  to  abandon  his  native  land,  in  order 
to  sojourn  with  Moab  until  the  famine  was  past  ?     No  doubt  it  was 
wrong ;  and  what  made  it  wrong,  according  to  the  Old  Testament 
standard,  was  that  he  was  abandoning  his  place  among  the  elect 
people  to  sojourn  among  the  heathen,  whose  social  life,  whose  very 
worship,  was  unutterably  licentious  and  degrading.    If  it  were  right  ol 
him  to  abandon  his  place,  it  would  not  have  been  wrong  for  all  Beth- 
lehem, nay,  for  all  Judah ;  and  then  how  could  the  Divine  purpose 
concerning  Israel  have  taken  effect  ?' 


SOJOURN  IN  MOAB,  AND   WIVES  OF  MOAB.      83 

As  to  the  young  men,  they  do  not  seem  to  have  married  until  after 
their  father's  death,  and  this  suggests  that  they  knew  he  would  dis- 
approve of  such  an  idolatrous  connection,  for  the  daughters  of  Moab 
were  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  faithful  Israelites.  No  Israelite 
might  marry  a  Canaanite  (Deut  vii.  3) ;  and  no  Moabite  could  be 
received  into  the  congregation  (Deut.  xxiii.  3).  The  first  evil  of 
going  into  the  heathen  country  was  followed  by  the  worse  evil  of 
intermarrying  with  the  heathen  Moabites. 

But  we  need  to  be  very  careful  in  attempting  to  fix  calamity  as 
judgment  on  individual  sin.  Our  Lord  taught  us  that  this  is  never 
our  province,  and  that  we  can  seldom,  if  ever,  do  it  wisely.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  the  writer  of  this  book  thought  both  Elimelech 
and  his  sons  to  blame,  and  held  *  the  calamities  which  fell  on  him 
and  his  house  to  be  a  judgment  on  his  sin.'  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  Targum  on  verse  4  reads  thus  :  '  They  transgressed  the 
commandment  of  the  Lord,  and  took  foreign  wives  from  among  the 
daughters  of  Moab.'  We  see  in  this  story  that  personal  and  family 
sins  are  within  the  Divine  cognizance,  and  are  surely  punished,  in  the 
Divine  providence,  by  family  calamities. 

David's  Treatment  of  Mephibosheth. 

2  SAMUEL  xix.  29  :  'And  the  king  said  unto  him,  Why  speakest  thou  any  more 
of  thy  matters  ?  I  have  said,  Thou  and  Ziba  divide  the  land.' 

Difficulty. — Did  not  David,  by  this  decision,  recognise  and  reward 
unfaithfulness  and  injustice  ? 

Explanation. — At  first  sight  there  does  seem  some  indication 
of  an  impatient  and  unreasonable  temper.  Ziba,  it  seems,  was  the 
means  of  bringing  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  Mephibosheth  to  the 
knowledge  of  David;  but,  as  the  prince  was  helplessly  lame,  he  cou  1 
not  personally  manage  the  estates  which  David  restored  to  him,  so 
Ziba  was  appointed  his  farm-steward,  with  an  agreement  that  half  the 
produce  of  the  estates  was  to  be  forwarded  for  the  support  of  the 
young  prince  at  Jerusalem  ;  the  other  half  would  be  required  for  the 
expenses  of  working  the  estate,  and  for  the  support  of  Ziba.  This 
was  altogether  an  equitable  and  reasonable  arrangement,  and  should 
have  proved  quite  satisfactory  to  Ziba. 

Either  the  necessities  of  Ziba's  family,  or  an  accession  of  the  spirit 
of  ambition  and  greed,  or  the  fact  that  a  favourable  opportunity  for 
becoming  suddenly  rich  presented  itself,  led  Ziba  to  attempt  the 
deception  of  David,  and  the  misrepresentation  of  his  master,  at  the 
time  of  Absalom's  rebellion.  Meeting  David  as  he  fled  from  Jeru- 

6—2 


84       HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

sal  em,  Ziba,  with  a  skilful  affectation  of  loyalty,  told  the  king  the 
shameful  lie  that  his  master  had  stayed  in  Jerusalem  in  the  belief  that 
he  would  be  made  king,  now  David  had  fled.  Excited  and  anxious 
as  David  was,  such  news  would  greatly  embitter  him ;  and  so,  without 
waiting  for  any  proofs,  he  rewarded  the  fawning,  unfaithful  Ziba  with 
the  gift  of  all  the  possessions  of  the  unfortunate  prince.  Ziba  gained 
his  end,  but  it  remained  to  be  seen  whether  he  could  keep  what  he 
had  gained. 

It  should  be  observed  that,  in  connection  with  the  overthrow  of 
Absalom,  David  acted  very  weakly.  The  rebellion  would  have  been 
successful,  humanly  speaking,  but  for  the  energy  of  Joab.  After 
Absalom's  death  David  was  for  some  time  in  a  moody  condition, 
from  which  he  was  only  roused  by  Joab's  plain  and  almost  fierce 
language.  In  the  scenes  of  the  restoration  we  can  see  that  the  supreme 
idea  of  David  was  just  to  let  things  be  as  they  were  before  the  re- 
bellion, and  he  wanted  all  connected  with  it  to  be  forgotten  as  speedily 
as  possible ;  it  was  a  passage  in  his  history  which  he  would  gladly  close 
up  and  hide  away,  and  never  even  be  reminded  of  again.  In  this 
spirit  he  dealt  with  Shimei  and  Ziba — Met  things  be  just  as  they 
were.' 

Mephibosheth  was  not  likely  to  allow  himself  to  lie  under  the 
reproach  of  Ziba  ;  but  there  was  an  abjectness  about  his  approach  to 
David  which  must  have  annoyed  David,  and  disposed  him  to  close 
a  painful  scene  without  attempting  to  decide  who  was  right  and 
who  was  wrong.  The  words  he  used  simply  mean,  '  Don't  quarrel 
over  the  matter.  I  can't  bear  any  disputing.  Justice  will  be  done  if 
you  and  Ziba  resume  your  old  relations,  and  you  have  half  the 
produce  of  the  estates,  as  you  did  before  this  sad  rebellion.'  It 
should  be  clearly  seen  that  Ziba  did  not  retain  what  he  had  gained 
by  his  wrong-doing.  He  was  put  back  into  his  old  position  as  a 
steward ;  and  had  the  misery  of  feeling  that  he  had  really  injured  no 
one  but  himself,  by  his  shameful  and  ambitious  plot. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  good  expositors  see  in  this  incident  signs 
of  the  grave  weakness  of  David,  and  a  sad  instance  of  successful 
villainy. 

Dr.  Geikie  writes  :  *  It  seems  strange  that  David,  so  able  in  many 
respects,  should  have  been  so  simple  in  others.  Fresh  calumnies 
had  evidently  again  prejudiced  him  against  the  son  of  his  old  friend, 
who,  instead  of  obtaining  his  grandfather's  lands  in  full,  and  seeing 
the  slanderer  justly  punished,  was  dismissed  with  the  restoration  of 
only  half  of  his  patrimony,  Ziba  receiving  the  other.  Thus  does  sue- 
cessful  villainy  often  flourish,  and  modest  merit  suffer  at  the  hands  ot 


DA  VI&S  TREATMENT  OF  MEPHIBOSHETH.     85 

unprincipled  audacity,  even  under  a  prince  anxious  to  do  justice  to 
all.  So  far  as  the  brief  notice  left  of  the  incident  goes,  David  had 
little  to  be  proud  of  in  his  treatment  of  the  son  of  such  a  matchless 
friend.' 

Dr.  F.  Gardiner,  in  'Ellicotfs  Commentary]  says  that  'either 
because  David  had  still  some  doubt  of  the  real  merits  of  the  case,  or 
more  probably  because  he  was  unwilling,  for  political  reasons,  to 
offend  Ziba,  he  resorts  to  that  half-way  and  compromise  course  which 
was  both  weak  and  unjust/ 

But  such  estimates  of  David's  act  are  based  on  the  assumption 
that  David  gave  one-half  of  the  property  of  Mephibosheth  over  to  the 
possession  of  Ziba,  whereas  the  fact  seems  to  be  that  he  did  but 
restore  the  original  agreement.  This  is  mentioned  in  2  Sam.  ix.  10. 
*  Thou,  therefore,  and  thy  sons,  and  thy  servants  shalt  till  the  land 
for  him,  and  'rbou  shalt  bring  in  the  fruits,  that  thy  master's  son  may 
have  food  to  eat'  Knowledge  of  Eastern  customs  assures  the  ex- 
ceeding probability  that  the  amount  for  Mephibosheth  was  fixed  at 
half-produce,  or  half  the  land,  as  it  is  called.  This  is  made  quite 
plain  by  the  following  explanation  : 

'  The  ancient  way  of  tenancy — nor  is  it  yet  quite  disused — was  that 
of  occupying  the  land,  and  giving  the  proprietor  a  certain  annual 
portion  of  the  fruits  of  it.  Sometimes  the  tenant  paid  one-half  of  the 
annual  produce,  and  such,  in  the  judgment  of  the  best  critics,  was 
Ziba  to  Mephibosheth,  as  he  had  before  been  to  Saul.  So  that  Ziba, 
having  half  the  fruits  for  his  labour,  had,  in  effect,  half  the  land. 
Upon  Ziba's  misinformation,  the  whole  was  given  to  him  (as  the  con- 
fiscated property  of  a  rebel);  David  now  revokes  that  grant,  and 
restores  his  first  decree;  for  the  words  plainly  refer  to  a  former 
decree,  now  re-established,  whereby  Saul's  estate  was  divided  between 
Mephibosheth  as  proprietor,  and  Ziba,  as  having  half  its  fruits  for  the 
labour  of  cultivation.' 

The  Imprecatory  Psalms. 

PsALM  cix.  20  :  '  Let  this  be  the  reward  of  mine  adversaries  from  the  Lord,  and 
of  them  that  speak  evil  against  my  soul.'  (See  verses  1-19,  and  also  Psalm  v.  8-10, 
vii.  11-17,  xxxv.,  Iviii.  10,  Ixix.). 

Question. — Can  any  explanation  relieve  our  feeling  that  such  a 
spirit  of  personal  revenge  was  utterly  unworthy  of  one  who  professed  to 
be  a  godly  man  1 

Answer. — The  relief  we  find  most  satisfactory  comes  from 
observing  that,  in  all  these  cases,  we  have  the  free  outpouring  of  a 
man's  feelings  and  wishes  to  God,  in  a  time  of  great  excitement;  and 


86        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

not  the  outpouring  of  curses  upon,  or  even  in  the  hearing  of,  the 
man's  enemies.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  Divine  love  that  it  wants 
our  perfect  confidence  and  openness.  We  must  be  just  ourselves — 
be  it  a  bad  mood  or  a  good  mood  that  we  are  in — when  we  come 
before  God.  And  here  we  find  David  in  a  bad  mood,  and  he  could 
not  do  a  wiser  thing  than  just  speak  out  all  the  dreadful  things  of  his 
passion  to  God.  That  would  soon  bring  him  relief,  and  when  all  was 
uttered  out  he  would  return  upon  kindlier  and  better  feelings.  These 
so-called  imprecatory  psalms  have  for  us  this  most  valuable  mission  : 
they  teach  us  that,  in  the  infinite  patience  and  gentleness  of  our 
heavenly  Father,  He  permits  His  children  to  open  out  their  whole 
hearts  to  Him,  and  tell  Him  their  complaints,  their  troubles,  and 
even  the  revengeful  feelings  they  may  be  cherishing.  So  we  do  not 
see  in  these  psalms  any  requests,  only  the  passionate  outpouring  of 
a  heart  overwhelmed  with  the  cruel  treatment  it  has  received.  Read 
in  this  way,  the  burden  of  associating  such  curses  with  a  godly  man 
is  entirely  removed. 

But  very  different  explanations  have  been  given  by  Biblical  writers, 
and  some  notes  of  these  may  be  added. 

The  'Speaker's  Commentary'  says  :  'The  Psalmist,  contemned  and 
despised  by  those  to  whom  he  had  done  good,  and  by  whom  he  had 
been  cursed  often  and  persecuted  to  death,  betakes  himself  at  first  to 
prayer  as  his  single  refuge ;  then  addresses  himself  to  God,  with 
Whom  is  vengeance,  and  hurls  back  the  curse,  which  his  foes  had 
imprecated  upon  him,  upon  themselves  with  a  fire  and  energy  which 
seem  to  some  surprising  in  this  divine  collection  of  hymns.  But  is  a 
Christian  spirit  to  be  expected  always  in  the  Psalms  ?  Would  the 
words  of  Christ  have  been  uttered  (Matt.  v.  43,  44,  etc.)  if  the  spirit 
which  animated  the  Jewish  people,  and  is  exhibited  not  unfrequently 
in  their  annals,  had  been  always  that  which  He  came  to  inculcate  ? 
Under  the  Old  Covenant,  calamity,  extending  from  father  to  son, 
was  the  meed  of  transgression  ;  prosperity,  vice  versa,  of  obedience  ; 
and  these  prayers  of  the  Psalmist  may  express  the  wish  that  God's 
providential  government  of  His  people  should  be  asserted  in  the 
chastisement  of  the  enemy  of  God  and  man.' 

This  view  is  supported  by  Jennings  and  Lowe  :  '  Regarded  from  a 
Christian  point  of  view,  the  animosity  of  the  Psalmist  does  indeed 
appear  extravagant  and  sinful.  But  if  it  be  read  with  due  considera- 
tion of  the  real  religious  and  moral  status  of  the  Jew,  we  shall  find 
no  occasion  to  evade  the  natural  meaning  of  this  psalm  of  impre- 
cation. The  Mosaic  revelation  lays  much  less  stress  upon  the  duty  of 
forgiveness  than  the  Gospel  does  ;  and,  moreover,  the  hostile  attitude 


THE  1MPRECA TOR  Y  PSALMS.  87 

which  the  Jewish  nation  had  perforce  to  assume  towards  the  entire 
Gentile  world  was  not  likely  to  engender  a  submissive  or  forbearing 
spirit  in  the  victims  of  either  public  or  private  oppression.  But  it 
would  be  unfair  to  ascribe  the  imprecations  of  this  psalm  altogether 
to  feelings  of  mere  resentment.  Pious  indignation  at  the  triumph  of 
evil  must  here  be  recognised  a?  one,  if  not  a  chief,  incentive.' 

Dean  Perownt  follows  on  the  same  lines :  *  Terrible  as  these  de- 
nunciations undoubtedly  are,  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  spirit  of  the 
Old  Dispensation,  not  to  be  defended  by  that  of  the  New,  still  let  us 
learn  to  estimate  them  aright  This  is  the  natural  voice  of  righteous- 
ness persecuted.  These  arc  the  accents  of  the  martyr,  not  smarting 
only  with  a  sense  of  personal  suffering,  but  feeling  acutely,  and  hating 
nobly,  the  triumph  of  wickedness.' 

The  earlier  ideas  of  the  psalm  are  well  represented  by  St.  Angus  line  : 
*  These  words  of  this  psalm  are  not  spoken  by  the  impulse  of  vin- 
dictive passion,  but  from  the  calmness  and  clearness  of  Divine 
omniscience,  which  sees  and  declares  what  is  future  as  if  it  were 
present,  and  which  announces  that  God's  justice  will  certainly  inflict 
what  they  who  provoke  it  and  trifle  with  it  deserve  and  bring  on 
themselves.  But  let  not  any  man  therefore  abuse  such  language  as 
this  into  a  plea  for  rendering  evil  for  evil,  which  Christ  forbids  us  to 
do.  What  is  here  declared  is  not  uttered  from  the  feelings  of  an 
accuser  who  wishes  for  the  punishment  of  his  adversary,  but  from  the 
deliberate  wisdom  of  a  judge  who  loves  equity  and  maintains  it.  The 
former  renders  evil  for  evil ;  but  the  latter,  even  when  he  punishes, 
does  not  render  evil  for  evil,  but  he  administers  what  is  just  to  the 
unjust ;  and  what  is  just  is  always  good,  and  what  is  good  is  always 
pleasing  and  an  object  of  desire.  The  just  Judge  does  not  punish 
for  love  of  anyone's  misery,  which  would  be  to  render  evil  for  evil ; 
but  He  punishes  for  love  of  justice,  and  in  this  sense  renders  good 
for  evil.  Therefore,  in  reading  this  psalm,  let  us  be  warned  again£ 
that  blind  self-adulation  which  presumes  that  God  will  not  be  true  to 
His  own  word,  and  will  not  punish  the  guilty ;  and  let  us  not  hence 
derive  a  plea  for  our  own  vindictive  passions,  as  if  it  were  not  a  sin 
to  render  evil  for  evil.  But  let  us  listen  to  what  this  divine  psalm 
teaches  us ;  and  in  the  words  of  its  malediction,  pronounced  on  the 
wicked,  let  us  see  a  Divine  prophecy  of  the  certain  punishment  of 
sin,  and  let  us  contemplate  God  administering  His  own  everlasting 
laws  with  exact  retributive  justice.' 

4  Ellicotfs  Commentary '  does  not  regard  the  psalm  as  having  a 
personal  character.  '  Whatever  its  origin,  whoever  the  original  object 
of  the  imprecations,  it  is  certain  that  they  become  public,  ecclesias- 


S8        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

tical,  national.  It  is  quite  possible  that  from  the  first  the  writer 
spoke  in  the  name  of  the  persecuted  nation  against  some  oppressive 
heathen  prince,  such  as  Antiochus  Epiphanes.' 

A  modern  effort  to  get  rid  of  the  difficulty,  which  was  started  by 
Kennicott  and  Mendelssohn,  has  been  made  by  Mr.  Taylor^  in  his 
work  '  The  Gospel  in  the  Law.'  He  supposes  the  words  of  the  psalm 
not  to  be  uttered  by  the  Psalmist,  but  to  be  merely  cited  by  him  as 
the  words  of  his  enemies  directed  against  himself.  We  have  only  at 
the  end  of  verse  5  to  supply  the  word  '  saying,'  which  is  so  commonly 
omitted  in  Hebrew  before  quotations,  and  all  that  follows  to  the  end 
of  verse  19  may  be  regarded  as  the  malediction  of  the  Psalmist's 
enemies.  This  view,  however,  has  not  met  with  much  favour. 


The  Lord's  Enmity  against  Amalek. 

EXODUS  xvii.  8,  16  :  •  Then  came  Amalek,  and  fought  with  Israel  in  Rephidim. 
.  .  .  For  he  said,  Because  the  Lord  hath  sworn  that  the  Lord  will  have  war  with 
Amalek  from  generation  to  generation.'  Literally,  *  He  said,  Because  [a]  hand 
[is]  on  the  throne  of  the  Lord,  a  war  of  the  Lord  against  Amalek  from  generation 
to  generation/  (See  margin.) 

Question. —  Wherein  lay  the  aggravation  of  the  sin  of  Amalek 
which  made  necessary  so  severe  a  judgment? 

Answer. — Two  explanations  may  be  given  of  this  incident  One 
is  well  expressed  in  the  following  notes  from  the  'Speaker's  Com- 
mentary' arid  '  Ellicotfs  Commentary': 

'  The  attack  upon  the  Israelites  was  made  under  circumstances,  at 
a  time  and  place,  fully  explained  by  what  is  known  of  the  peninsula. 
It  occurred  about  two  months  after  the  Exodus,  towards  the  end  of 
May  or  early  in  June,  when  the  Bedouins  leave  the  lower  plains  in 
order  to  find  pasture  for  their  flocks  on  the  cooler  heights.  The 
approach  of  the  Israelites  to  Sinai  would  of  course  attract  notice,  and 
no  cause  of  warfare  is  more  common  than  a  dispute  for  the  right  ot 
pasturage.  The  Amalekites  were  at  that  time  the  most  powerful  race 
in  the  peninsula,  which  from  the  earliest  ages  was  peopled  by  fierce 
and  warlike  tribes,  with  whom  the  Pharaohs,  from  the  third  dynasty 
downwards,  were  engaged  in  constant  struggles.  It  may  be  conjec- 
tured that  reports  of  the  marvellous  supply  of  water  may  have 
reached  the  natives,  and  accelerated  their  movements.  On  this 
occasion  Amalek  took  the  position  recognised  in  the  Sacred  History 
as  the  chief  of  the  heathens  (Num.  xxiv.  20),  the  first  among  the 
heathens  who  attacked  God's  people,  and  as  such  marked  out  for 
punishment  (see  i  Sam.  xv.  21),  especially  merited  by  them  as  de- 


THE  LORD'S  ENMITY  AGAINST  AM  ALE  K.        89 

'cendants  of  the  elder  brother  of  Jacob,  and  therefore  near  kinsmen 
)f  the  Israelites.' 

Prof.  Rawlinson,  in  '  EUicotfs  Commentary?  says  : — '  The  Ama- 
ekites  had  not  been  previously  (except  in  the  anticipatory  notice  of 
Genesis  xiv.  7)  mentioned  as  a  nation.  They  early  became  the  pre- 
iominant  people  in  the  Sinaitic  peninsula.  Though  Edomites,  they 
ire  always  regarded  as  a  distinct  race,  and  one  especially  hostile  to 
Israel  (ver.  16).  Their  present  hostility  was  not  altogether  unpro- 
voked. No  doubt  they  regarded  the  Sinaitic  region  as  their  own, 
ind  as  the  most  valuable  portion  of  their  territory,  since  it  contained 
heir  summer  and  autumn  pastures.  During  their  absence  in  its 
nore  northern  portion,  where  there  was  pasture  for  their  flocks  after 
he  spring  rains,  a  swarm  of  emigrants  had  occupied  their  best  lands, 
md  threatened  to  seize  the  remainder.  Naturally  they  would  resent 
he  occupation.  They  would  not  understand  that  it  was  only  tem- 
porary. They  would  regard  the  Israelites  as  intruders,  robbers — 
persons  entitled  to  scant  favour  at  their  hands.  Accordingly,  they 
iwooped  upon  them  without  mercy,  attacked  their  rear  as  they  were 
ipon  the  march,  cut  off  their  stragglers,  and  slew  many  that  were 
*  feeble,  faint,  and  weary  "  (Deut.  xxv.  17,  18).  They  then  encamped 
n  their  neighbourhood,  with  the  design  of  renewing  the  struggle  on 
he  next  day.  It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  Moses  had  to 
nake  his  arrangements.  Amalek's  sin  was  that,  after  all  the  signs 
md  wonders  which  had  shown  the  Israelites  to  be  God's  peculiar 
people,  he  braved  God's  displeasure  by  attacking  them.  To  this 
mdacity  and  contempt  of  Jehovah's  power  he  added  a  cruel  pitiless- 
icss,  when  he  fell  upon  the  rear  of  an  almost  unarmed  host  at  a  time 
tfhen  they  were  "  faint  and  weary." ' 

But  Dr.  J.  L.  Porter,  in  his  addition  to  Kitto's  chapter  on 
Rephidim,  best  brings  out  the  aggravation  of  the  sin  of  these 
Amalekites,  and  adds  a  point  of  importance,  which  the  other  writers 
;eem  to  have  missed.  He  thinks  Rephidim  was  in  Wady  esh-Sheikh, 
#hich  falls  into  Feiran  after  sweeping  round  northwards  in  a  semi- 
:ircle  from  the  base  of  Mount  Sinai.  It  forms  the  only  practicable 
ipproach  from  the  westward  to  that  mountain.  In  Wady  Feiran 
here  was  one  of  the  largest  fountains  in  the  whole  peninsula.  At 
Rephidim  there  was  no  water,  and  Moses  was  commanded  to  '  go  on 
Before '  with  the  elders,  and  '  smite  the  rock  in  Horeb.' 

'  The  attack  of  the  Amalekites  appears  to  have  followed  immedi- 
itely  the  miracle  of  the  smitten  rock ;  and  as  it  was  begun  by  an 
attack  upon  the  rear  of  the  Israelites — upon  "  all  that  were  feeble 
Dehind  thee,  when  thou  wast  faint  and  weary  " — it  would  seem  pro- 


9o        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

bable  that  it  took  place  when  the  able-bodied  men  had  gone  forward 
with  Moses  and  the  elders  to  procure  water.  This  throws  new  light 
upon  the  incident.  The  people  were  taken  by  surprise,  and  the 
Amalekites  gained  a  temporary  advantage. 

'  It  is  usual  to  connect  the  Amalekites  with  Wady  Feiran,  and  to 
represent  the  battle  as  a  brave  attempt  on  their  part  to  defend  the 
paradise  of  their  desert  home.  But  this  is  without  any  satisfactory 
evidence.  The  home  of  the  Amalekites  was  away  upon  the  borders 
of  Palestine,  and  it  is  questionable  whether  they  had  ever  any  posses 
sions  among  the  mountains  of  Sinai.  Why,  then,  did  they  attack  the 
Israelites  ?  It  would  seem  that  they  knew  of  the  intention  of  the 
people  to  invade  Canaan.  They  were  watching  their  movements. 
When  they  saw  them  encamp  at  Rephidim,  they  feared  they  were 
about  to  advance  northwards.  Consequently,  they  embraced  wha1 
they  deemed  a  favourable  opportunity,  swept  down  through  the 
passes  from  the  northern  plateau,  and  attacked  them  in  the  rear 
thinking  thus  to  destroy  them  by  one  bold  stroke/ 

The  point  of  the  judgment  on  Amalek  was  that  Israel  should  neve; 
make  any  league  with  this  nation,  but  ever  regard  the  Amalekites  a; 
irreconcilable  enemies,  doomed  to  ruin.  Probably  the  severity  o 
the  judgment  is  in  part  due  to  the  fact  that  this  was  the  first  hostile 
attack  on  Israel,  and  a  profound  impression  needed  to  be  producec 
on  other  tribes,  which  would  keep  them  from  attempting  to  checl 
the  Israelite  progress. 


The  Slaughter  of  the  Baal  Prophets. 

I  KINGS  xviii.  40  :  '  And  Elijah  said  unto  them,  Take  the  prophets  of  Baal 
let  not  one  of  them  escape.  And  they  took  them  :  and  Elijah  brought  them  dow 
to  the  brook  Kishon,  and  slew  them  there.' 

Question. —  Was  this  terrible  slaughter  in  any  sense  necessary  t 
the  vindication  of  Jehovah  as  God,  which  was  the  mission  entrusted  t 
Elijah  ? 

Answer. — It  was,  as  the  matter  would  be  regarded  in  that  agt 
and  in  accordance  with  prevailing  national  and  religious  sentiment.1 
The  life  of  proved  deceivers  of  the  people  was  fairly  forfeited 
Elijah's  life  would  most  certainly  have  been  taken  if  he  had  failed  t 
bring  down  the  fire :  and  the  mere  fact  of  the  Baal  representative 
being  numerous  does  not  affect  the  justice  of  their  execution.  The 
were  destroyed  by  the  sudden  indignation  of  the  people,  whic 
Elijah  directed.  It  was  a  case  of  Lynch  Law,  with  a  clear  basis  c 
natural  justice. 


THE  SLAUGHTER  OF  THE  BAAL  PROPHETS.     91 

This  may  suffice  for  a  general  answer,  but  it  is  possible  to  be  much 
ore  precise  in  the  explanation  of  the  incident,  which  certainly  seems 
reveal  a  sanguinary  disposition  in  Elijah.  Dean  Stanley  fully 
ters  into  the  spirit  of  the  scene,  and  this  gives  the  best  defence  of 
ijah's  act.  Things  done  in  the  impulse  of  high  excitement  ought 
t  to  be  judged  as  if  they  were  the  deliberate  decisions  of  the  quiet 
d  judicial  hour.  *  Elijah  was  now  the  ruler  of  the  nation.  His 
>rd  was  law.  In  that  sudden  revulsion  of  feeling  "  the  wheel  had 
me  full  cycle  round."  The  persecutors  became  the  victims.  The 
ophets  of  Baal  were  seized ;  they  were  swept  away  by  the  wild 
altitude.  Elijah  himself  led  them  down  the  mountain  slopes  to 
e  gorge  of  the  Kishon.  As  Phinehas,  as  Samuel,  before  him,  so 
ijah  now  took  upon  himself  the  dreadful  office  of  executioner/ 
If  Jehovah  is  King  of  the  country,  and  His  claim  is  acknowledged, 
en  He  needs  to  have  an  executioner  to  carry  out  His  kingly  indig- 
.tion  against  those  who  had  refused  His  authority  and  persecuted 
is  servants. 

It  may  further  be  suggested  that  it  was  advisable,  for  the  people's 
ke,  to  make  the  influence  of  Baalism  in  the  land  henceforth  difficult, 
lere  would  be  a  rebound  from  the  excitement  of  the  Carmel  scene, 
d  of  this  the  Baal  prophets  would  make  skilful  occasion  to  revive 
eir  power.  And  we  may  add  that,  under  the  theocracy,  a  prophet, 
rectly  commissioned  by  Jehovah,  had  the  right  to  step  in  and 
ecute  Jehovah's  laws  whensoever  the  king  failed  in  his  duty. 
As  this  is  an  unusually  involved  and  perplexing  subject,  three 
ssages  may  be  given,  which  gather  up  the  above  points  of  explana- 
>n,  and  enforce  them  with  the  authority  of  judicious  and  trusted 
iters. 

Kitto  says  :  '  The  appeal  of  Elijah  was  to  the  people.  He  called 
>on  them  to  inflict,  then  and  there,  upon  these  ringleaders  of  the 
:ople  in  idolatry,  the  punishment  which  the  law  denounced,  and 
ch  as  would  have  been  inflicted  upon  himself  had  the  victory  been 
i  their  side  ;  and  the  king  seems  to  have  been  too  awe-stricken  to 
terfere.  From  the  character  of  Elijah,  we  have  no  doubt  that  he 
ecuted  this  act  of  blood  heartily,  and  with  entire  satisfaction.  It  is 
>t  for  us  to  vindicate  him.  The  only  question  is,  Was  this  in 
cordance  with  the  law,  and  with  the  spirit  of  the  times?  It 
rtainly  was.  And  Britons,  not  so  much  as  fifty  years  ago,  per- 
rmed  under  their  own  laws,  with  perfect  peace  of  mind,  upon  far 
5s  heinous  offenders,  the  deadly  executions  which  we  now  regard 
.th  horror.  If,  then,  in  looking  back  upon  the  last  generation,  we 
ake  allowance  for  this  great  change  of  law  and  sentiment  within  so 


92        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

short  a  time,  we  must  needs  make  the  same  allowance  in  surveyi 
the  more  remote,  and  less  refined,  age  in  which  Elijah  lived.' 

This  statement  respecting  the  severities  of  British  law  of  fifty  ye? 
ago  is  well  illustrated  by  a  passage  from  Lord  Lytton's  life  of  1 
father,  the  well-known  novel-writer,  Bulwer  Lytton  :  '  The  numt 
of  persons  executed  in  the  seven  years  from  1819  to  1825  was  55 
Their  offences  were  as  follows  :  Arson  and  other  wilful  burning 
property,  10.  Burglary,  128.  Cattle-stealing,  2.  Maliciously  killing, 
Forgery  and  uttering  forged  instruments,  62.  Horse-stealing,  s. 
Housebreaking  in  the  daytime  and  larceny,  9.  Larceny  in  dwellir 
houses  to  the  value  of  forty  shillings,  27.  Secreting  and  steali 
letters  containing  bank-notes,  5.  Murder,  101.  Shooting,  stabbir 
and  administering  poison  with  intent  to  murder,  30.  Rape,  31.  Ri 
(remaining  assembled  with  rioters  one  hour  after  the  Riot  Act  h, 
been  read),  i.  Robbery  from  the  person  on  the  highway  and  oth 
places,  95.  Sacrilege,  2.  Sheep-stealing,  29.  Unnatural  offences,  i 
High  treason,  5.  From  these  figures  it  appears  that,  of  all  t 
persons  who  were  hanged  in  England  between  the  years  1819  ai 
1825  inclusive,  less  than  one-Jiff  h  were  guilty  of  the  crime  to  whi 
capital  punishment  is  now  confined? 

But  the  most  remarkable  illustration  of  the  change  which  circui 
stances  make  in  the  public  estimate  of  general  executions  and  seen 
of  slaughter  is  given  by  Dean  Stanley  in  his  lecture  on  the  extermir 
tion  of  the  Canaanites  : — '  In  the  late  Indian  Mutiny,  at  the  tir 
when  the  belief  in  the  Sepoy  atrocities  (since  exploded)  prevail 
throughout  India,  it  will  be  in  the  memory  of  some  that  letters  we 
received  from  India,  from  conscientious  and  religious  men,  containi 
phrases  to  this  effect.  "  The  Book  of  Joshua  is  now  being  read 
church.  It  expresses  exactly  what  we  are  all  feeling.  I  never  befc 
understood  the  force  of  that  part  of  the  Bible.  It  is  the  only  ru 
for  us  to  follow."  I  do  not  quote  this  sentiment  to  approve  of 
I  quote  it  to  show  that  what  could  be  felt,  even  for  a  moment,  1 
civilized  Christendom  now,  might  well  be  pardoned,  or  even  coi 
mended,  in  Jewish  soldiers  three  thousand  years  ago.' 

Dr.  Henry  Alton,  writing  in  '  The  Bible  Educator'  says : — *  T 
slaughter  of  Baal's  priests  is  to  be  justified  only  on  theocratic  pri 
ciples.  Thus  Moses  more  than  once  put  idolaters  to  death.  Elij; 
demanded  their  death  in  the  name  of  the  Mosaic  law  (Exod.  xxii.  2 
Deut.  xiii.  6-10;  xvii.  1-7).  They  were  not  merely  false  teache 
and  imposters,  but  traitors  and  rebels  against  the  national  govei 
ment.  It  was  part  of  Ahab's  guilt  that  he  had  not  done  the  sarr 
Probably  the  excitement  of  the  people  would  have  made  it  impossit 


THE  SLAUGHTER  OF  THE  BAAL  PROPHETS.      93 

;ave  them,  even  had  it  been  lawful  to  do  so.  It  is  freely  admitted 
t  under  any  other  than  a  theocratic  government  such  a  slaughter 
the  priests  of  a  false  religion  would  have  been  both  a  crime  and 
lunder — according,  that  is,  to  our  modern  notions ;  but  then,  in 
ness  to  those  who  have  done  such  things,  it  should  be  re- 
mbered  that  such  notions  are  scarcely  three  centuries  old. 
ither  Christendom,  paganism,  nor  infidelity  has  long  learned  how 
ch  greater  and  more  effectual  moral  victories  are  than  physical 
ermination.' 

Dr.  Barry's  note,  in  *  Ellicotfs  Commentary •/  is  as  follows : — *  This 
hless  slaughter  of  Baal's  prophets,  as  a  judgment  on  their  idolatry 
i  perversion  of  the  people,  belongs  alike  to  the  fierce  righteousness 
the  character  of  Elijah,  and  to  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Law  (see,  for 
imple,  Deut.  xiii.  6-18 ;  xvii.  2-7).  The  law  was  adapted  to 
;  "  hardness  of  men's  hearts."  In  the  imperfect  moral  and  religious 
ucation  of  those  times,  it  did  not  recognise  the  difference  between 
)ral  and  political  offences  punishable  by  human  law  and  the 
igious  sin  or  apostasy  which  we  have  been  taught  to  leave  to  the 
igment  of  God  alone ;  and  it  enjoined  an  unrelenting  severity  in 
*  execution  of  righteous  vengeance,  which  would  be  morally  im- 
>ssible  to  us,  who  have  been  taught  to  hate  the  sin,  and  yet  spare, 
far  as  possible,  the  sinner.' 


Schemes  for  securing  Wives  for  Benjamin. 

JUDGES  xxi.  14  :  'And  Benjamin  came  again  at  that  time ;  and  they  gave  them 
ves  which  they  had  saved  alive  of  the  women  of  Jabesh-gilead  :  and  yet  so  they 
fficed  them  nol  ' 

Difficulty. — Does  not  such  a  dreadful  story  of  atrocity  and  blood- 
ed dishonour  the  pages  of  God's  Holy  Word  ? 

Explanation. — The  object  of  the  narrator  seems  to  be  to  give  a 
vid  picture  of  the  society  of  that  age,  as  introductory  to  the  appoint 
ent  of  a  king,  whose  authority  should  suppress  such  disorders, 
ut  a  further  object  may  be  discerned.  He  shows  that,  even  in  a 
me  of  such  anarchy,  God  was  watching  over  the  nation,  and  would 
Dt  permit  one  section  of  it  to  be  entirely  rooted  out.  The  singular 
ling  is  that  the  overruling  Providence  worked  its  purpose  through  acts 
f  violence  and  treachery;  the  same  kind  of  evil-doing  that  threatened 
ic  destruction  of  a  tribe  securing  its  recovery  and  restoration. 

The  key  to  the  compiler's  object  in  such  an  unveiling  of  the  horrors 
f  the  age  is  found  in  the  closing  sentence  of  the  book,  verse  25  :— 
In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in  Israel :  every  man  did  that  which 


94        HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

was  right  in  his  own  eyes.'     The  disorders  of  the  time  arose  from  t 
want  of  some  strong  central  authority. 

The  mission  of  such  records  in  God's  Word  is  one  of  suprei 
importance.  The  tendency  of  each  age,  and  especially  of  later  ag 
is  to  overpraise  humanity,  and  proclaim  man's  goodness,  so  that 
really  needs  no  redemption.  The  resistance  of  that  tendency  is  fou 
in  the  simple  records  of  history.  Put  nations  under  the  very  b« 
influences,  give  them  every  possible  advantage,  and  then  let  moi 
governmental,  and  religious  restraints  go  loose  for  a  while,  and  t 
corruptions  of  men  run  riot,  and  produce  anarchy,  violence,  a 
bloodshed,  such  as  was  seen  in  the  days  of  the  Judges.  Histo 
sacred  and  profane,  is  the  testimony  to  the  truth  of  human  depravi 
The  race  needs — each  individual  needs — a  Redeemer  to  deliver,  a 
a  King  to  rule  in  righteousness. 

The  story  connected  with  the  above  passage  is  briefly  as  follows  : 
In  consequence  of  a  terrible  wrong  done  by  a  man  of  Benjamin,  t 
other  tribes  had  united  in  solemn  vow  to  secure  its  annihilate 
Benjamin  fought  bravely,  but  was  at  last  defeated  by  a  stratage 
and  only  600  men  managed  to  escape  destruction  out  of  soi 
27,000;  the  female  inhabitants  and  the  children  being  ruthlessly  \ 
to  the  sword.  Presently  some  remorse  seized  the  rest  of  the  tribt 
but  action  seemed  impossible,  because  the  vow  taken  included 
pledge  that  no  man  should  give  his  daughter  to  wife  to  a  man 
Benjamin.  Wives  could  only  be  found  for  these  600  Benjamites 
some  sort  of  stratagem,  some  scheme  by  which  the  letter  of  th 
oath  could  be  kept,  while  in  actual  fact  it  was  broken.  Such  n 
vows  always  imperil  sincerity  and  straightforwardness.  We  om 
never  to  pledge  what  we  will  do  in  the  future,  because  circumstam 
may  arise  which  compel  other  conduct  than  we  had  resolved  upc 
In  respect  of  vows  and  pledges,  it  may  be  said  that  they  ought  ne^ 
to  be  taken,  because  *  sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof/ 

Four  hundred  wives  were  obtained  by  an  expedition  against  Jabe 
gilead.  As  these  did  not  suffice,  -by  a  pious  fraud  the  200  men  1 
were  encouraged  and  permitted  to  seize  at  will  the  young  Israel 
women  who  were  dancing  at  one  of  the  religious  feasts.  Th( 
daughters  were  not  given — so  the  oath  was  kept.  They  w< 
obtained — and  so  the  needs  of  the  Benjamites  were  met.  Such 
story  enforces  our  Saviour's  command,  'Swear  not  at  all.'  'T 
guilt  of  breaking  a  guilty  vow  is  only  the  original  guilt  of  ever  havi 
made  it.' 


DIVINE  JUDGMENT  ON  MOSES.  95 


Divine    Judgment    on    Moses. 

NUMBERS  xxvii.  12-14  :  'And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Get  thee  up  into  this 
.ountain  of  Abarim,  and  behold  the  land  which  I  have  given  unto  the  children  of 
;rael.  And  when  thou  hast  seen  it,  thou  also  shalt  be  gathered  unto  thy  people, 
;  Aaron  thy  brother  was  gathered  :  because  ye  rebelled  against  my  word  in  the 
ilderness  of  Zin,  in  the  strife  of  the  congregation.' 

Difficulty. — Surely  this  is  a  needlessly  severe  judgment  on  a  com- 
aratively  trivial  fault,  committed  under  extreme  provocation. 

Explanation.— The  moral  estimate  of  a  fault  must  take  into 
ccount  the  position  of  influence  and  authority  which  the  person  who 
ommits  it  may  occupy.  It  is  in  this  light  only  that  the  seriousness 
f  Moses's  failing  can  be  properly  estimated.  His  action  dishonoured 
ehovah  in  the  eyes  of  the  people ;  and,  therefore,  in  a  very  public 
nd  impressive  way,  the  fact  must  be  declared  that  sin  never  goes 
/ithout  punishment,  even  if  it  is  committed  by  God's  most  trusted 
ervants.  God  was  teaching  this  people,  Israel,  by  signs ;  and  even 
he  great  Moses  must  himself  be  held  up  before  them  as  a  sign  for 
heir  warning  against  disobedience  in  small  things. 

The  incident  to  which  reference  is  made  is  recorded  in  Numbers  xx. 
i-i3.  The  thing  most  prominent  in  it  is  certainly  Moses'  giving 
vay  to  temper,  and  *  speaking  unadvisedly  with  his  lips '  (Psa.  cvi. 
J3),  and  angrily  smiting  the  rock  twice.  A  passionate  impulsiveness 
vas  the  weakness  in  the  noble  character  of  Moses.  He  learned  to 
•estrain  it,  but  on  this  occasion  he  gave  way.  Now  Moses  was  the 
xie  man  who  not  only  gave  to  men  the  will  of  God,  but  also,  in  his 
)wn  intercourse  with  men,  showed  them  the  character  of  God.  This 
nakes  the  failure  of  Moses  of  such  supreme  importance.  Men  were 
jetting  their  ideas  of  Jehovah  very  largely  from  the  spirit,  character, 
and  relations  of  Moses.  Then  how  false  a  view  of  God  was  pre- 
sented by  such  impetuosity,  passion,  and  calling  of  bad  names,  as  is 
recorded  in  Numbers  xx.  10,  n.  It  was  not  that  Moses  failed  in 
faith,  but  he  did  not  maintain  that  close  reliance  on  God  which  would 
have  enabled  him  to  keep  calm,  and  act  wisely,  even  in  circumstances 
of  most  extreme  provocation. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  thinks  the  sin  of  Moses  consisted  in  two 
things  :  i.  In  calling  the  people's  attention  to  himself  as  if  he  were 
the  author  and  donor  of  the  gift  of  water,  and  saying,  'Must  we 
fetch  you  water  out  of  the  rock  ?'  thus  assuming  to  himself  the  power 
of  bringing  the  water  out  of  the  rock,  instead  of  raising  their  eyes  to 
God,  who  vouchsafed  to  give  the  water  through  his  ministry  and 
instrumentality  A.nd  2,  in  smiting  the  rock  twice — literally,  with 


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two  strokes,  in  his  impatience,  as  if  the  water  was  to  be  elicited  b 
the  application  of  man's  strength,  and  not  by  God's  word,  when  h 
was  commanded  to  speak  to  it  once.  He  thus  showed  want  of  faith 
and  was  guilty  of  disobedience;  and  he  sinned  in  these  respect 
publicly,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  committed  to  his  charge  by  God/ 
The  simple  note  in  the  *  Speaker's  Commentary '  says  all  that  reall 
needs  to  be  said  on  the  subject.  'In  fact,  the  faithful  servant  c 
God,  worn  out  by  the  reiterated  perversities  of  the  people,  at  las 
breaks  down ;  and,  in  the  actual  discharge  of  his  duty  as  God 
representative  before  Israel,  acts  unworthily  of  the  great  functio 
entrusted  to  him.  Thus  Moses  did  not  "  sanctify  God  in  the  eyes  c 
the  children  of  Israel."  Aaron  might  have  checked  the  intemperat 
words  and  acts  of  Moses,  and  did  not.  Hence  God  punishes  bot 
by  withdrawing  them  from  their  work  for  Him,  and  handing  over  it 
accomplishment  to  another.' 

Laban's  Duplicity. 

GENESIS  xxix.  26  :  '  And  Laban  said,  It  is  not  so  done  in  our  place,  to  give  th 
younger  before  the  firstborn  '  (Kev.  Ver.}. 

Question. —  Was  Laban's  deceitful  scheme  in  any  sense  justifie 
by  the  customs  of  the  country  ;  or  did  his  excuse  only  add  insult  i 
injury  1 

Answer. — Several  things  connected  with  Arab  marriage  custom 
need  to  be  understood  before  we  can  estimate  fairly  the  incident 
narrated  in  this  chapter.  In  the  East  the  bride  is  always,  in  a  sense 
purchased  :  the  applicant  for  her  has  to  bring  rich  presents,  an 
bargain  with  the  relatives  of  the  bride.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  cas 
of  Isaac's  marriage  to  Rebekah.  Isaac  did  not  go  to  negotiate  fo 
her  himself.  Isaac's  father  sent  a  confidential  servant,  and  with  hir 
handsome  presents.  By  this  servant  the  matter  was  arranged  wit 
the  family  of  Rebekah.  Jacob,  however,  had  no  property,  so  coul 
make  no  presents  ;  he  could  only  offer  his  personal  services. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  it  is  still  the  custom  among  th 
Arabs  to  prefer  a  relative  as  the  husband  of  a  daughter ;  or  that,  o 
giving  a  moderate  dowry,  the  elder  cousins  can  claim  the  elde 
daughters  in  marriage,  and  the  younger  cousins  the  younger  daughter; 
According  to  this  custom,  Jacob,  being  a  second  son,  had  a  reco^ 
nised  claim  to  Rachel,  the  younger  daughter.  The  Rabbins  have 
very  curious  tradition,  which  shows  the  prevalence  of  the  idea  c 
cousinly  alliance ;  they  say  that  Leah's  eyes  were  weak  fror 
weeping,  because  Esau,  the  elder  cousin,  had  not  come  to  marry  he; 


LA  BAN'S  DUPLICITY.  97 

The  deception  practised  upon  Jacob  was  easily  managed,  because 
in  the  East  the  bride  is  always  brought  to  the  bridegroom  closely 
veiled.  The  veil  covers  the  whole  body,  and  is  far  larger  than  that 
ordinarily  worn.  Now-a-days  the  bride's  veil  is  usually  red.  No  doubt 
the  sisters  were  nearly  alike  in  size,  figure,  voice,  etc.,  which  helped 
to  carry  through  the  deception.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  Leah  must 
have  been  a  willing  party  to  the  fraud,  if  she  did  not  actually 
suggest  it. 

The  marriage  festival  usually  lasted  a  week  (Judges  xiv.  12),  and 
to  have  forsaken  Leah  during  this  period  would  have  been  to  offer 
her  an  insult  which  her  brothers  must  have  avenged. 

It  is  very  doubtful  whether  there  was  any  such  custom  as  Laban 
refers  to ;  and  if  there  had  been,  he  was  bound  in  honour  to  have 
mentioned  it  when  Jacob  negotiated  for  Rachel.  The  only  hint  of 
such  a  custom  we  can  hear  of  is  given  by  Lane,  who  says  that  in 
Egypt  a  father  objects  to  marry  a  younger  daughter  before  an  elder. 
Inglis  says,  'The  apology  of  Laban  that  the  younger  sister  could 
not  be  married  before  the  elder,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  tribe, 
cannot  be  admitted.  A  baser  fraud  and  a  more  cruel  injury  it  was 
impossible  to  inflict  on  any  man,  which  no  subsequent  act  could 
repair.  It  was  not  Jacob  only,  but  his  own  daughter  Rachel,  whose 
happiness  he  sacrificed  to  his  covetousness.' 

Jamieson  remarks  that  *  this  is  too  much  the  way  of  the  people  of 
the  East  still.  The  duty  of  marrying  an  elder  daughter  before  a 
younger,  the  tricks  which  parents  take  to  get  off  an  elder  daughter 
that  is  plain  or  deformed,  and  in  which  they  are  favoured  by  the  long 
bridal  veil  that  entirely  conceals  her  features  all  the  wedding-day,  and 
the  prolongation  for  a  week  of  the  marriage  festivities  among  the 
greater  sheikhs,  are  accordant  with  the  habits  of  the  people  in  Arabia 
and  Armenia  in  the  present  day.' 

God's    Purpose   working    through    Samson's   Wil- 

fulness. 

JUDGES  xiv.  4 :  '  But  his  father  and  his  mother  knew  not  that  it  was  of  the 
Lord  ;  for  he  sought  an  occasion  against  the  Philistines.  Now  at  that  time  the 
Philistines  had  rule  over  Israel.'  (Rev.  Ver.} 

Question. — Does  God's  overruling  of  man's  wilf nines s  and  dis- 
obedience for  the  accomplishment  of  His  purposes  in  any  sense  relieve  or 
lighten  the  sin  of  such  wilfulnessl 

Answer. — There  is  a  sort  of  uncertain  sentiment  prevailing  that 
it  does,  and  that  a  man's  wrong-doings  will  not  bring  him  under 
Divine  judgment  if,  in  any  special  way,  God  overrules  and  uses  the 

7 


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wrong  done.  But  only  a  little  consideration  is  necessary  in  order  to 
dispel  such  a  notion,  which  is  indeed  directly  opposed  to  Scripture 
teaching.  God's  providence  is  the  supreme  direction  of  all  events 
and  actions  to  the  accomplishment  of  high,  wise,  gracious,  Divine 
purposes,  but  it  in  no  way  interferes  with  the  character  of  events  or 
the  quality  of  actions.  Man  is  responsible  for  his  conduct  in  the 
light  of  the  laws  of  truth  and  righteousness  and  duty  which  have 
been  revealed  to  him,  and  with  that  responsibility  God's  supreme 
overrulings,  in  the  large  interests  of  humanity,  in  no  way  inter- 
fere. 

There  is  nothing  to  commend  in  this  conduct  of  Samson's.  He 
acted  throughout  in  sheer  wilfulness.  He  resisted  right  and  wise 
parental  advice.  He  broke  well-known  Mosaic  rules.  He  brought 
all  concerned  in  the  matter  into  trouble.  But,  accustomed  to  trace 
in  everything  the  great  providential  workings,  the  writer  of  this  record 
sees,  even  in  such  wilfulness,  a  link  in  a  chain  of  events  that  issued 
at  last  in  national  deliverance. 

He  would  be  a  strange  God  indeed  who  could  only  control  and 
use  the  good  things  done  by  men.  It  is  the  glory  of  Jehovah  that 
His  knowledge  and  power  cover  the  whole  life  of  every  man ;  and 
we  must  all  work  towards  the  fulfilment  of  His  purpose  by  our  evil 
as  well  as  by  our  good ;  but  this  can  never  alter  the  fact,  that  for  our 
evil  there  is  due  punishment,  and  for  our  good  due  reward. 

Kitto  expresses  very  simply  the  point  on  which  the  answer  to  this 
difficulty  should  rest :  '  It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  when  Samson  grew 
up,  all  the  attachments  which  he  successively  formed  were  to  females 
of  the  Philistines — the  power  that  held  Southern  Israel  in  bondage. 
No  daughter  of  his  own  people  appears  to  have  gained  his  attention 
at  any  time.  There  was,  as  intimated,  a  Providence  in  this,  that 
therefrom  might  result  circumstances  which  should  bring  him  intc 
collision  with  the  Philistines,  disgraceful  and  disastrous  to  them.' 

If  the  expression,  '  for  he  sought  an  occasion,'  can  be  applied  tc 
Samson  (and  this  is  certainly  the  more  natural  way  of  reading  the 
passage,  though  good  commentators  prefer  to  think  that  Jehovah  is 
meant),  then  the  verse  is  relieved  of  all  its  difficulty,  for  we  are  tc 
understand  that  Samson  sought  these  Philistine  alliances,  not  on  the 
impulse  of  sensual  passion,  but  in  loyalty  to  his  mission,  and  as  the 
best  mode  of  doing  that  life-work  which  had  been  entrusted  tc 
him.  His  parents  did  not  understand  that  he  was  thus  acting  ir 
order  to  make  occasions  for  quarrel  which  should  issue  in  nationa 
deliverance. 

All  that  can  be  said  on  the  expression,  *  it  was  of  the  Lord,'  is  thai 


THE  EVIL  OF  USURY.  99 

in  this  marriage  God  was  overruling  the  course  of  events  to  the 
furtherance  of  His  own  designs.  He  makes  even  the  weakness  and 
fierceness  of  man  redound  to  His  praise.  It  is  the  strong  sense  of 
the  Divine  rule  which  we  find  even  in  heathen  writers,  so  that,  in  the 
very  opening  lines  of  Homer,  we  find  the  poet  saying  *  that  amid  all 
the  crimes  and  passions  of  men  the  counsel  of  Zeus  was  being  ac- 
complished.' 

The  Evil  of  Usury. 

NEHEMIAH  v.  7  :  '  Then  I  consulted  with  myself,  and  contended  with  the 
nobles  and  the  rulers,  and  said  unto  them,  Ye  exact  usury,  everyone  of  his 
brother.  And  I  held  a  great  assembly  against  them.'  (Rev.  Ver.) 

Question. —  What  constitutes  usury  ;  and  is  the  lending  of  money 
en  security  and  interest  of  necessity  and  always  an  evil  ? 

Answer. — It  may  be  possible  to  recognise  the  very  serious  social 
evil  into  which  the  people  had  fallen  in  Nehemiah's  time,  and  the 
importance  of  stern  legislative  dealings  with  the  evil,  and  yet  we  may 
have  no  clear  views  of  the  limitations  under  which  the  lending  of 
property  should  be  put. 

In  the  dealings  of  God's  people  among  themselves  they  were  to  be 
guided  by  a  distinct  rule.  *  If  thou  lend  money  to  any  of  my  people 
that  is  poor  by  thee,  thou  shalt  not  be  to  him  as  an  usurer,  neither 
shalt  thou  lay  upon  him  usury'  (Exod.  xxii.  25).  But,  singularly 
enough,  usury  towards  strangers  was  tolerated  (Deut  xxiii.  20).  By 
the  term  '  usury '  is  commonly  understood  an  unlawful  profit.  Perhaps 
the  idea  in  the  word  may  be  thus  expressed  :  it  is  such  an  exaction, 
by  way  of  security  and  interest,  as  puts  in  peril  the  principal. 

Some  advanced  Socialists  in  these  days  earnestly  contend  that  no 
man  is  justified  in  taking  interest  on  loaned  money.  But  common 
sense  replies,  that  '  It  seems  as  lawful  for  me  to  receive  interest  for 
money,  which  another  takes  pains  with,  improves,  but  runs  the  risk 
of  in  trade,  as  it  is  to  receive  rent  for  my  land  which  another  takes 
pains  with,  improves,  but  runs  the  hazard  of  in  husbandry.' 

Before  God,  the  evil  of  usury  must  be  the  getting  of  our  personal 
advantage  out  of  the  poverty  and  distress  of  others,  which  is  opposed 
to  the  Divine  ideas  of  charity,  brotherliness,  and  mutual  consider- 
ation. To  make  any  terms  based  on  the  distress  of  another  is  always 
unlovely  in  God's  sight.  To  get  possession  of  a  neighbour's  estate, 
by  foreclosing  mortgages  made  in  times  of  temporary  distress,  was 
to  sin  against  the  spirit,  and  indeed  the  actual  terms,  of  the  Jewish 
covenant 

Volney  says  that  the  ordinary  rate  of  interest  in  Syria,  in  his  time, 

7—2 


TOO      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

was  twenty  per  cent.,  and  such  percentage  always  imperils  the  prin- 
cipal. Money  may  be  lent  on  interest  still,  providing  the  person 
borrowing  the  money  is  able  to  use  it  so  as  to  secure  a  better  return 
than  he  has  to  give  in  interest.  Usury  begins  as  soon  as  interest 
must  be  paid  out  of  principal,  because  the  borrower  cannot  earn 
with  the  money  the  amount  of  interest  demanded 

Ewald  explains  that  '  whoever  possesses  external  property,  and 
makes  a  diligent  use  of  it,  finds  it  increase  under  his  hands.  It  is 
therefore  no  more  than  fair  that  such  a  possession,  if  borrowed  for  a 
time  by  another,  whether  merely  in  consequence  of  indigence  or  in 
order  to  extend  his  business  therewith,  shall  be  returned  by  him  to 
its  owner  along  with  a  corresponding  increase.  Thus  even  property, 
money,  or  anything  else,  which  is  lent  to  another,  bears  fruit  for  its 
owner,  grows,  sometimes  most  luxuriantly,  and  increases  for  his  benefit 
with  greater  or  less  rapidity.' 

But  the  evil  of  this  among  the  ancients  was  that  the  per  centage 
of  the  interest  was  entirely  left  to  the  freewill  of  individuals.  The 
rate  varied  much,  but  was  for  the  most  part  extravagant,  and  this 
often  led  to  a  cruel  oppression  of  the  poorer  classes,  and  conse- 
quently to  dangerous  disturbances  of  the  public  peace.  A  debtor 
was  regarded  as  completely  at  the  mercy  of  the  creditor,  almost  as 
his  bondsman  and  subject.  We  must  remember  that  every  family  in 
Israel  ought  properly  to  have  possessed  its  hereditary  estate,  and  in  it 
the  means  to  support  life  decently ;  and,  further,  that  such  a  nation 
at  first  formed  a  compact  unity  and  a  close  brotherhood,  especially 
towards  other  races  subjugated  by  it.  We  cannot,  then,  be  surprised 
that  the  law,  rather  than  suffer  the  pernicious  usages  which  existed 
Elsewhere,  preferred  trying  to  abolish  all  taking  of  interest  whatever. 


David's  Treatment  of  Moab. 

2  SAMUEL  viii.  2 :  '  And  he  smote  Moab,  and  measured  them  with  the  line, 
making  them  to  lie  down  on  the  ground ;  and  he  measured  two  lines  to  put  to 
death,  and  one  full  line  to  keep  alive.'  (Rev.  Ver.) 

Question. — How  can  such  deliberate  cruelty  be  reconciled  with  the 
commendation  of  David  as  a  man  after  '  Gods  own  heart*  ? 

Answer. — It  is  necessary  first  to  know  precisely  what  he  did  ; 
then  to  estimate  fairly  the  provocations  under  which  he  acted ;  and 
then  to  set  his  conduct  alongside  that  of  other  conquerors  of  cities 
and  peoples  in  his  time  and  in  Eastern  lands. 

David  did  with  an  Eastern  quaintness  what  is  nowadays  done, 
and  regarded  as  righteous  doing,  in  connection  with  the  mutinies  of 


DA  VID'S  TREA  TMENT  OP  MOAB.  101 

regiments  or  rebellions  of  peoples.  It  is  recognised  as  right  that 
there  should  be  some  public  and  deliberate  vindication  of  outraged 
authority  and  broken  vows ;  and  so,  in  a  regiment,  every  tenth 
man  is  put  to  death  ;  and,  in  a  revolt,  a  certain  determined  propor- 
tion of  rebels.  The  sentiment  is  that  the  lives  of  the  entire  regiment, 
or  the  members  of  the  rebellion,  are  forfeited,  and  that  it  is  a  merciful 
limitation  of  strict  justice  to  execute  the  few  as  representative  of  the 
whole. 

David's  act  was  precisely  of  this  order ;  but,  as  he  lived  in  the 
fierce  Eastern  climes,  his  merciful  limitation  of  judgment  did  not  go 
far  enough  to  seem  very  gracious  to  us.  He  made  his  prisoners — 
and  it  is  important  to  remember  that  these  were  soldiers  in  arms — 
lie  close  together  on  the  ground;  the  space  they  occupied  was 
measured  off  in  three  parts  ;  and  it  is  significantly  said  that  those  on 
a  /////  third  were  spared.  The  cruelty  is  at  once  relieved  when  we 
see  that  the  scheme  bore  no  relation  to  the  inhabitants,  and  has  to 
be  judged  entirely  according  to  the  rules  and  customs  of  warfare. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  Mosaic  rules,  under  which  David 
was  bound  to  act,  were  very  severe  ;  and  that  a  man — a  judge  or  a 
king — is  not  personally  chargeable  with  cruelty  when  he  firmly 
carries  out  the  laws  which  all  recognise  as  binding.  The  law  of 
Moses  had  enjoined  that  if  a  city  yielded  when  summoned,  the  lives 
of  the  inhabitants  were  to  be  spared,  tribute  being  imposed  on  the 
community.  If,  however,  it  resisted,  *  every  male  was  to  be  put  to 
death ' ;  the  women  and  children  led  off  as  slaves ;  the  place  sacked ; 
and  its  cattle  and  all  the  plunder  shared  among  the  conquerors 
(Deut.  xx).  So,  if  it  be  assumed  that  the  whole  of  the  male  inhabi- 
tants were  made  to  lie  on  the  ground,  still,  in  sparing  a  '  full  third,' 
David  leaned  to  the  side  of  mercy. 

Goodness — in  motive,  spirit,  and  character — must  be  the  same 
thing  in  every  age  and  clime.  But  goodness,  finding  expression  in 
conduct  and  relations,  must  vary  with  the  sentiments,  customs,  and  sur- 
roundings of  particular  times.  To  judge  David's  conduct  aright,  we 
must  see  him  in  the  setting  of  his  age,  and  not  force  him  to  go  into  a 
framing  of  our  own  age. 

We  do  not  actually  know  what  provocations  Moab  had  given 
David,  but  his  dealing  with  them  is  certainly  the  punishment  of  some 
act  of  treachery.  We  know  that  he  had  been  on  such  friendly  terms 
with  Moab  as  to  seek  in  that  country  refuge  from  Saul,  and  a  place 
of  safety  for  his  parents.  It  is  a  Jewish  tradition  that  the  King  of 
Moab  had  broken  the  trust  which  David  had  reposed  in  him,  and 
put  to  death  the  aged  parents  confided  to  his  charge.  Probably 


102      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Moab  had  treacherously  taken  advantage  of  David's  temporary 
failure  in  his  Syrian  wars,  and  tried  to  cut  off  his  retreat ;  and  so  they 
must  learn  by  such  a  terrible  vengeance. 

God's  praise  is  of  David's  character  as  a  man,  and  not  of  his  pre- 
cise conduct  as  a  military  leader  or  as  an  irresponsible  Eastern 
king. 

*  Eye  for  Eye,  Tooth  for  Tooth.' 

EXODUS  xxi.  23-25  :  '  But  if  any  mischief  follow,  then  thou  shalt  give  life  for 
life,  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth,  hand  for  hand,  foot  for  foot,  burning  for  burning, 
wound  for  wound,  stripe  for  stripe.' 

Question. — Does  not  this  stern  rule  support  the  idea  that  a  man 
may  take  vengeance  of  his  neighbour  ? 

Answer. — We  are  distinctly  to  understand  that  these  are  not 
directions  for  the  ordering  of  private  conduct  and  relations,  but  in- 
structions to  judges  and  magistrates  as  to  principles  on  which  their 
judgments  should  be  made  and  their  sentences  given.  They  are, 
indeed,  better  suited  for  the  tribal  life  of  ancient  Israel  than  to  the 
city  life  of  modern  times ;  but  the  principles  of  restitution,  and  of 
making  a  man  suffer  what  he  has  wilfully  made  others  suffer,  are 
quite  just  in  every  generation  and  in  every  society. 

It  must  be  clearly  seen  that  a  lawgiver  can  only  modify,  and  im- 
prove upon,  the  sentiments  of  justice  which  actually  prevail  among 
his  people.  He  would  wholly  fail  of  his  purpose  if  he  introduced 
principles  of  justice  and  methods  of  judgment  with  which  they  were 
unfamiliar.  Moses  could  qualify  and  adapt  the  prevailing  tribal 
notions,  especially  in  this  respect — that  he  could  moderate  their 
fierceness  and  severity.  It  was  a  great  work  to  take  the  avengement 
of  wrong  out  of  the  hands  of  sufferers  or  their  immediate  friends,  and 
put  it  into  the  hands  of  publicly  appointed  officials.  These  magis- 
trates would  have  to  work  on  the  old  lines,  but  in  a  calm  and  judicial 
spirit.  'Eye  for  eye'  does  but,  with  the  figurativeness  of  Eastern 
language,  express  the  principle  that,  as  far  as  may  be  possible,  repara- 
tion of  all  injuries  wilfully  done  must  be  publicly  demanded.  This 
principle  might  healthily  be  made  more  prominent  in  the  judicial 
decisions  of  modern  times. 

'  This  law,  of  suffering  like  for  like  (the  jus  talionis\  has  its  root  in 
a  simple  conception  of  justice,  and  is  found  in  the  laws  of  many 
ancient  nations.  It  was  ascribed  to  Rhadamanthus ;  it  was  recog- 
nised in  the  laws  of  Solon,  by  the  ancient  Indians,  and  by  the 
Thurians.  It  appears  to  be  regarded  in  this  place  as  a  maxim  for 


*EYE  FOR  EYE,  TOOTH  FOR  TOOTH:  103 

the  magistrate  in  awarding  the  amount  of  compensation  to  be  paid 
for  the  infliction  of  personal  injury.  The  sum  was  to  be  as  nearly  as 
possible  the  worth  in  money  of  the  power  lost  by  the  injured  person. 
This  view  appears  to  be  in  accordance  with  Jewish  tradition.' 

(For  further  Scripture  references  see  Gen.  ix.  6;  Lev.  xxiv.  19-21 ; 
Deut.  xix.  21.) 

Prof.  Rawlinson,  in  Ellicotfs  Commentary p,  says  :  ( It  is  a  reason- 
able conjecture  that  the  law  of  retaliation  was  much  older  than 
Moses,  and  accepted  by  him  as  tolerable,  rather  than  devised  as 
rightful.  The  law  itself  was  very  widely  spread.  There  is,  prima 
fade,  a  semblance  of  exact  rectitude  and  equality  about  it  which  cap- 
tivates rude  minds,  and  causes  the  adoption  of  the  rule  generally  in 
an  early  condition  of  society.  Theoretically,  retaliation  is  the  exactest 
and  strictest  justice ;  but  in  practice  difficulties  arise.  How  is  the 
force  of  a  blow  to  be  measured  ?  How  are  exactly  similar  burns  and 
wounds  to  be  inflicted  ?  Is  eye  to  be  given  for  eye  when  the  injurer 
is  a  one-eyed  man?  And,  again,  is  it  expedient  for  law  to  multiply 
the  number  of  mutilated  citizens  in  a  community  ?  Considerations  of 
these  kinds  cause  the  rule  to  be  discarded  as  soon  as  civilization 
reaches  a  certain  point,  and  tend  generally  to  the  substitution  of 
a  money  compensation,  to  be  paid  to  the  injured  party  by  the 
injurer.' 

Cruickshank  says  :  '  We  have  heard  a  slave  argue  for  his  emanci- 
pation on  the  score  of  the  accidental  loss  of  an  eye  in  his  master's 
service,  from  the  recoil  of  a  branch  of  a  tree,  and  appeal  to  a  tradi- 
tionary law  which  entitles  him  to  this  compensation.' 

4  It  is  a  curious  illustration  of  the  decayed  sentiment  prevailing  in 
the  time  of  our  Lord,  that  the  Pharisees  had  invented  a  scale  of 
money  payments  in  lieu  of  the  sufferings  enjoined  by  the  law.  As  in 
our  own  Middle  Ages,  a  tariff  of  fines  was  constructed  for  each  per- 
sonal injury — for  tearing  the  hair,  for  a  cuff  on  the  ear,  a  blow  on  the 
back,  spitting  on  the  person,  taking  away  an  under-garment,  un- 
covering the  head,  and  the  like.  The  value  of  a  hand,  or  foot,  or  an 
eye  was  computed  by  the  depreciation  it  would  have  made  in  the 
value  of  a  slave.  A  blow  on  the  ear  was  variously  set  at  the  fine  of 
a  shilling  or  a  pound ;  a  blow  on  the  one  cheek,  at  two  hundred 
zuzees  ;  on  both  cheeks,  at  double.  To  tear  out  hair,  to  spit  on  the 
person,  to  take  away  one's  coat,  or  to  uncover  a  woman's  head,  was 
compensated  by  a  fine  of  four  hundred  zuzees.' 


io4      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Jephthah's  Argument. 

JUDGES  xi.  24  :  '  Wilt  not  thou  possess  that  which  Chemosh  thy  god  giveth 
thee  to  possess  ?  So  whomsoever  the  Lord  our  God  hath  dispossessed  from  before 
us,  them  will  we  possess.' 

Difficulty. — Do  not  the  words  of  Jephthah  imply  a  recognition  of 
equality  between  Chemosh  and  Jehovah ;  or,  at  least,  assume  Chemosh 
to  be  a  real  God  ? 

Explanation. — In  order  to  argue  a  disputed  point  fairly,  the 
disputants  must  have  a  common  platform.  It  is  often  necessary  to 
assume  an  agreement,  and  the  one  arguer  must,  for  the  sake  of  argu- 
ment, accept  temporarily  the  other's  position.  This  is  just  what  we 
have  before  us  in  this  passage.  Jephthah  is  not  arguing  the  relative 
claims  of  Chemosh  and  Jehovah,  but,  for  the  occasion,  accepting  the 
fact  that  the  national  gods  bless  national  enterprise,  he  fairly  enough 
urges  that  the  King  of  Ammon  would  have  held  fast  his  right  to  all 
territory  Chemosh  had  given  him  upon  conquest,  and  what  he 
claimed  for  himself  he  must  allow  to  Israel ;  for  Jehovah,  Israel's 
God,  had  given  to  them  the  territory  now  in  dispute.  Jephthah's 
opinion  of  Chemosh,  whatever  it  might  be,  would  on  this  occasion 
have  been  out  of  place,  and  even  offensive. 

But  this  explanation  will  appear  more  satisfactory  if  the  details  of 
a  somewhat  unfamiliar  story  are  given. 

It  seems  that  a  certain  portion  of  Gilead — that  bounded  by  the 
Arnon  on  the  south,  by  the  Jabbok  on  the  north,  by  the  Jordan  on 
the  west,  and  by  the  wilderness  on  the  east,  and  forming  the  terri- 
tories of  Reuben  and  Gad — had  in  some  far-distant  time  belonged  to 
Moab.  Before  Israel  had  anything  to  do  with  it,  Sihon,  King  of  the 
Amorites,  had  conquered  it  and  made  it  a  part  of  his  kingdom.  Now 
the  Israelites  were  commanded  not  to  take  any  tenitory  of  the 
Moabites  and  Ammonites,  but  they  were  to  extirpate,  and  take  the 
lands  of,  all  Canaanites  and  Amorites.  They  could  enter  into  no 
disputes  about  the  absolutely  original  owners  of  the  soil,  and,  finding 
this  particular  territory  under  the  rule  of  Sihon,  they  were  justified  in 
conquering  and  appropriating  it 

About  the  time  of  Jephthah  the  power  of  the  Ammonites  and 
Moabites  had  increased  under  some  vigorous  rulers,  and  the  Israelites 
east  of  Jordan  were  fast  sinking  into  mere  roving  shepherds.  This 
was  a  good  opportunity  for  asserting  claims  to  the  lands  occupied  by 
Gad  and  Reuben,  and  following  such  claims  up  by  warlike  enterprises. 
In  the  emergency,  Jephthah  was  sought  for  as  the  most  likely  leader 


JEPHTHAH' S  ARGUMENT.  105 

f  a  movement  to  resist  the  encroachment.  Jephthah  takes  no  place 
nong  good  and  God-fearing  men,  and  we  should  not  think  for  a 
loment  of  taking  religion  from  him,  or  allowing  him  to  express  for 
3  right  religious  beliefs.  He  was  the  wild  leader  of  a  band  of  rough 
ien  who,  living  on  the  border-land,  had  proved  his  prowess  in  some 
3tty  conflicts  with  the  Ammonites.  When  called  to  head  a  more 
rneral  movement  of  the  Israelites,  he  began  with  an  effort  to  settle 
ie  dispute  about  the  territory  by  peaceful  negotiations.  Answering 
ie  Ammonite  king,  who  declared  the  disputed  land  was  his,  Jephthah 
ses  the  following  arguments  :  i.  The  territory  was  not,  in  fact,  taken 
ther  from  Moab  or  Ammon,  but  from  Sihon,  King  of  the  Amorites. 
his  was  proved  by  appeal  to  the  historic  records  preserved  in  the 
ook  of  Deuteronomy.  2.  It  is  universally  recognised  that  purchase 
om  the  last  owner,  and  conquest  from  the  last  possessor,  gives 
juitable  rights.  3.  Length  of  possession  gives  competent  title.  And 
Balak,  who  lived  nearer  the  time  of  conquest,  and  was  a  powerful 
ing,  did  not  venture  to  dispute  the  right  of  possession ;  and  it  was 
treasonable  to  revive  obsolete  claims  now.  The  worst  that  need  be 
lid  of  Jephthah  is  given  in  the  following  sentences  by  Dr.  Geikie  : 
Contact  with  Moab  and  Ammon,  and  the  worship  of  their  sanguinary 
}ds  along  with  Jehovah,  or  in  His  stead,  had  given  Jephthah  a  creed 
i  which  zeal  for  God  was  darkly  mingled  with  heathen  ideas  bor- 
>wed  from  the  rights  of  Chemosh,  whom  he  seems  to  have  recognised 

>  in  some  sense  a  true  divinity.' 

Human  Appeals  to  Conscious   Integrity. 

PSALM  xxvi.  i  :  'Judge  me,  O  Lord,  for  I  have  walked  in  mine  integrity  :  I 
ive  trusted  also  in  the  Lord  without  wavering.'  (Rev.  Ver.) 

Question. — Can  a  man  know  l  the  plague  of  his  own  heart]  and 
/,  with  a  true  humility  and  sincerity,  speak  to  God  of  his  personal 
•tegrity  ? 

Answer. — If  a  man  is  consciously  sincere,  and  fully  purposed  to 
:rve  God,  he  may,  and  he  ought  to  say  so  to  God,  on  fitting 
:casions.  Difficulty  is  created  in  this  case,  by  our  adding  to  the 
ord  '  integrity '  ideas  which  are  in  no  sense  essential  to  it.  Integrity 
simply  'wholeness  of  purpose  and  intention';  'genuineness'; 
soundness.'  The  man  of  integrity  is  the  vessel  without  a  crack, 
lat  will  ring  clear.  The  word  integrity  does  not  mean  '  moral 
arfection,'  for  that  no  man  in  his  senses  can  claim  ;  and  to  ask  God 

>  judge  us  on  that  basis  is  to  invite  a  certain  condemnation.     In- 
grity  means  uprightness  of  heart,  soundness  of  purpose,  conscious 


io6     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

sincerity  of  intention.  The  idea  of  the  word  may  be  illustrated  b 
the  description  given  of  Job,  who  was  *  perfect  and  upright,  one  the 
feared  God,  and  eschewed  evil.'  Perfect  here  meaning  '  singh 
hearted,'  'simple,'  'not  wilfully  or  consciously  committing  sin 
Upright  describes  the  general  tone  and  character  of  Job's  relation 
with  his  fellow-men. 

The  dictionaries  give  the  word  as  derived  from  the  Latin  integrita, 
and  meaning  '  state  of  being  entire  or  complete ;  wholeness ;  mon 
soundness ;  honesty ;  uprightness ;  unimpaired  or  genuine  state 
purity;  incorruptness. 

But  it  does  seem  strange  to  us  that  David  should  thus  stan 
before  God,  and  appeal  to  what  he  calls  his  *  righteousness'  and  h 
'integrity.'  It  is  usually  regarded  as  a  self-evident  and  foundatio 
truth,  that  man  has  no  righteousness  of  his  own.  The  best  things  i 
man  are  bad.  '  All  our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags,  and  we  a] 
all  as  an  unclean  thing.'  But  however  efficient  as  representing  or 
side  of  truth,  this  is  only  one  side ;  and  we  should  be  able  also  t 
recognise  that  there  is  some  good  Sense  in  which  a  man  can  be  sai 
to  have  a  personal  righteousness  before  God.  We  have  actual 
known  and  lived  with  persons  of  whom  we  always  think  and  speak  ; 
men  and  women  of  integrity,  right-hearted,  sincere,  and  righteou 
Our  Lord  distinctly  assumed  that  men  could  have  a  personal  righteou 
ness,  when  He  said,  '  Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  tl 
righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  ye  can  in  no  case  ent< 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven/ 

It  may,  however,  be  said  that  David  miserably  failed  from  righteou 
ness.  He  did ;  and  yet  there  is  the  most  marked  distinction  betwec 
his  failure  and  that  of  King  Saul.  Saul  failed  altogether,  and  ft 
away  from  God,  because  his  sins  were  sins  of  will;  neither  heart  n 
life  were  right  in  the  sight  of  God.  David  stumbled,  but  did  n 
utterly  fall,  because  the  will  in  him  was  only  forced  to  consent 
sin,  and  sprung  back  to  God  directly  the  force  of  bodily  passion  th 
held  it  down  was  removed.  David  failed  in  the  body-sphere ;  b 
Saul  failed  in  the  soul-sphere. 

Jennings  and  Lowe  take  a  different  view.  'The  most  promine 
feature  in  this  Psalm  is  the  writer's  confidence  in  his  own  piel 
Such  self-confidence  is  eminently  characteristic  of  the  Hebrt 
religion.  Its  assertion  will  be  repugnant  only  to  those  who  expe 
the  Hebrew  poets  to  write  in  accordance  with  the  higher  teaching 
Christianity.' 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  AMALEK.  107 

The  Destruction  of  Amalek. 

I  SAMUEL  xv.  2,  3  :  *  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  I  remember  that  which 
malek  did  to  Israel,  how  he  laid  wait  for  him  in  the  way,  when  he  came  up 
5m  Egypt.  Now  go  and  smite  Amalek,  and  utterly  destroy  all  that  they  have, 
id  spare  them  not ;  but  slay  both  man  and  woman,  infant  and  suckling,  ox  and 
eep,  camel  and  ass.' 

Difficulty. — Can  such  a  command  have  been  given  by  Him  whom 
•e  know  as  '  merciful  and  gracious,  slow  to  anger,  and  of  great 
•'ndness '  ? 

Explanation. — There  is,  perhaps,  no  difficulty  in  God's  Word 
lore  perplexing  than  this  one,  and  the  best  that  can  be  said  about  it 
ill  not  do  more  than  relieve  the  strain  upon  our  feeling  in  relation 
>  it.  From  present-day  points  of  view,  and  in  the  light  of  modern 
nowledge  and  sentiment,  it  is  nearly  impossible  to  vindicate  the  ways 
f  God  with  Amalek.  But  we  are  bound  to  read  the  story,  not  in  the 
ght  of  modern  days,  but  according  to  the  prevailing  sentiments 
nd  practices  of  the  age  when  such  events  occurred.  The  total 
estruction  of  tribes  and  races  was  then  a  commonplace,  now  it  is 
ach  a  horrible  idea  that  it  could  not  be  endured  in  connection  with 
ny  civilized  community. 

The  best  suggestion  of  explanation  perhaps  is,  that  God  occupied 
ne  place,  in  relation  to  Israel,  of  supreme  King,  actually  presiding 
ver  national  affairs.  We  have  had  occasion  to  show  that  Scripture 
ften  represents  God  as  speaking  and  acting  like  a  man  ;  we  should 
jrther  see  that  He  is  often  represented  as  speaking  and  acting  like  a 
•ing,  and,  as  the  only  kings  Eastern  people  knew  were  irresponsible 
ings,  even  like  such  a  king.  If  the  Israelites  thought  of  God  as  their 
Cing,  they  could  only  think  Him  such  a  King  as  those  they  were 
amiliar  with  in  the  nations  around. 

Now,  as  matter  of  diplomacy,  kings  had  often  to  reserve  the  avenge- 
nent  of  national  insults  until  the  fitting  opportunity  arrived,  and  so 
ehovah  delayed  the  vindication  of  His  people  from  the  insults  of 
Vmalek.  And  we  should  also  notice  that  the  Eastern  notion  of 
>lood-revenge,  which  required  the  death  of  the  murderer  or  insulter, 
vhen  applied  to  nations  involved  the  death  or  total  destruction  of  the 
;uilty  race.  In  case  of  blood-feud  the  extermination  of  a  tribe 
natches  the  death  of  the  individual ;  and  the  justice  which  approved 
.uch  death  of  the  individual  for  individual  sin  could  not  reasonably 
)bject  to  the  destruction  of  a  race,  or  tribe,  for  united  tribal  or 
lational  sin.  Whatever  had  been  done  by  Amalek  was  done  by  it  as 
i  people,  and  upon  Jehovah,  Israel's  King,  rested  the  duty  of  avenging 
he  wrong. 


io8     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

In  this  direction  a  hopeful  explanation  is  possible,  but  the  furthi 
suggestions  of  prominent  and  judicious  commentators  may  be  given 

The  people  of  Amalek  roamed  freely  through  the  deserts  whic 
lie  between  Southern  Judaea  and  the  Egyptian  frontier.  As  a  ra< 
allied  to  the  Israelites,  that  people  ought  to  have  had  nothing 
fear  from  them ;  but,  in  a  most  dastardly  and  treacherous  way,  tl 
Amalekites  had  attacked  the  rear-guard  of  Israel,  as  the  host  w 
toilsomely  climbing  up  the  passes  toward  Sinai.  On  that  occask 
they  were  indeed  defeated  and  driven  back,  but  for  this  cowardl 
unprovoked  attack  they  were  solemnly  doomed  to  destructic 
(Exod.  xvii.  8,  14 ;  Num.  xxiv.  20). 

Canon  Spence  regards  Amalek  as  cherem,  or  put  under  the  ba 
1  Whatever  was  "  put  under  the  ban  "  in  Israel  was  devoted  to  Go 
and  whatever  so  devoted  could  not  be  redeemed,  but  must  be  slai 
Amalek  was  to  be  looked  on  as  accursed ;  human  beings  and  catt 
must  be  killed ;  whatever  was  capable  of  being  destroyed  by  fi 
must  be  burnt.  The  cup  of  iniquity  in  this  people  was  filled  u 
Its  national  existence,  if  prolonged,  would  simply  have  workc 
mischief  to  the  commonwealth  of  nations.  Israel  here  was  simp 
the  instrument  of  destruction  used  by  the  Almighty.  It  is  vain 
attempt  in  this  and  similar  transactions  to  find  materials  for  tl 
blame  or  for  the  praise  of  Israel.  We  must  never  forget  that  Isra 
stood  in  a  peculiar  relation  to  the  unseen  King,  and  that  this  natic 
was  not  unfrequently  used  as  the  visible  scourge  by  which  the  / 
Wise  punished  hopelessly  hardened  sinners,  and  deprived  them 
the  power  of  working  mischief.  We  might  as  well  find  fault  wi 
pestilence  and  famine,  or  the  sword — those  awful  instruments 
Divine  justice,  and,  though  we  often  fail  to  see  it  now,  of  Divir 
mercy.' 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  suggests  that  this  expedition  by  Sa 
against  Amalek  was  not  made  without  fresh  provocation,  and  refe 
to  chapter  xiv.  48 :  '  Probably  some  incursion  was  made,  simil 
to  that  described  in  chapter  xxx.,  upon  the  south  country  at  a  tin 
when  they  thought  the  Israelites  were  weakened  by  their  contes 
with  the  Philistines,  since  they  are  described  as  "  those  that  spoih 
Israel." ' 

Dr.  Edersheim  says  :  '  Looking  back  upon  it  from  another  stage 
moral  development  and  religious  dispensation,  and  in  circumstanc 
so  'different  that  such  questions  and  duties  can  never  arise,  and  th 
they  seem  immeasurably  far  behind,  as  the  dark  valley  to  tl 
traveller  who  has  climbed  the  sunlit  height,  or  as  perhaps  even 
and  phases  in  our  own  early  history,  many  things  connected  wi 


HARDENING  PHARAOH'S  HEART.  109 

e  "  ban  "  may  appear  mysterious  to  us.  This  accommodation  of 
e  law  to  each  stage  of  man's  moral  state,  together  with  the  con- 
LUOUS  moral  advancement  which  the  law  as  a  schoolmaster  was 
;ended  to  bring  about,  and  which  in  turn  was  met  by  progressive 
relation,  renders  it  impossible  to  judge  of  a  Divine  command  by 
ing  to  put  it  as  to  our  own  times,  and  as  applicable  to  us.  If  we 
t  forward  the  finger-hand  on  the  dial  of  time  and  the  clock  still 
ikes  the  old  hour,  we  must  not  infer  that  the  clock  is  out  of  order, 
:t  rather  that  we  have  unskilfuily  meddled  with  it.' 
famieson  gives  a  succinct,  and  practically  efficient,  explanation  in 
e  following  note :  *  Being  a  people  of  nomadic  habits,  they  were 
plundering  and  dangerous  as  the  Bedouin  Arabs,  particularly  to 
e  southern  tribes.  The  national  interest  required,  and  God,  as 
'ing  of  Israel^  decreed,  that  this  public  enemy  should  be  removed.' 

Hardening  Pharaoh's  Heart. 

EXODUS  iv.  21  :  '  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  When  thou  goest  back  into 
>ypt,  see  that  thou  do  before  Pharaoh  all  the  wonders  which  I  have  put  in  thine 
tnd  ;  but  I  will  harden  his  heart,  and  he  will  not  let  the  people  go.' 

Question. — Did  not  this  hardening  of  the  heart,  by  making 
'haraoh  insensible  to  good  influences,  remove  his  responsibility  ? 

Answer. — This  is  the  first  mention  of  the  hardening,  and  it 
lould  be  carefully  noticed  that  it  is  in  the  nature  of  a  prophecy, 
i  order  to  prepare  Moses  for  the  difficulties  and  seeming  failures 
»at  will  attend  his  mission,  God  gives  him  an  anticipatory  view  of 
le  providential  order,  and  shows  him  what  will  presently  happen  in 
ic  regular  course  of  events.  Moses  quite  understood  that  God  did 
ot  harden  Pharaoh's  heart  to  begin  with.  The  hardening  came  about 
>  the  usual  and  providential  judgment  on  persistent  self-willedness ; 
nd  Moses  is  told  about  it  beforehand,  so  that  he  may  be  able  wisely 
y  meet  the  circumstances  to  which  the  hardening  may  lead. 

We  find  it  difficult  to  realize  what,  in  fact,  is  a  very  simple  thing, 
lat  God's  foreknowing  what  will  happen  does  not  add  anything  to 
ic  ordinary  course  of  cause  and  effect.  God  overlooks  all,  and 
nows  the  end  from  the  beginning.  He  can  tell  how  men  will  act 
i  every  complicated  situation  in  life.  But  God's  knowledge  is  not 
ne  of  the  agencies  which  influence  men's  actions.  He  may  be 
leased  to  show  Moses  what  Pharaoh  would  presently  do,  and  what, 
i  response  to  Pharaoh's  self-willedness,  He  would  have  to  do ;  but 
:ie  regular  course  of  affairs  would  go  on,  unaffected  either  by  what 
rod  knew  or  by  what  He  was  pleased  to  tell  Moses. 


no      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

This  appears  to  be  a  sufficient  answer  and  explanation,  but  we  ma 
add  others  which  have  commended  themselves  to  honoured  writers. 

The  fullest  and  most  careful  examination  of  this  subject  that  w 
have  met  with  is  given  by  Bishop  Wordsworth,  and  we  present  th 
explanation  to  our  readers  first,  because  it  supports,  and  harmonize 
with,  the  view  we  have  already  taken.  Wordsworth  paraphrases  th 
verse  2 1  thus  :  '  Because  he  will,  as  I  well  know,  resist  all  My  counsel 
and  defy  My  power,  and  sin  against  My  reproofs  and  chastisement: 
and  will  reject  all  My  warnings,  and  turn  My  spiritual  food  into  poisor 
and  My  grace  into  licentiousness,  therefore  I  will  punish  him  by  witl 
drawing  My  grace  from  him,  and  by  giving  him  over  to  a  reprobat 
mind.'  To  Theodoret  is  due  the  familiar  figure  'that  as  the  sam 
heat  of  the  same  sun  moistens  wax  and  hardens  clay,  so  the  sam 
grace  of  the  same  God  has  the  effect  of  softening  some  and  hardenin 
others,  according  to  the  temper  of  their  hearts.' 

It  appears  that  three  distinct  Hebrew  words  are  translated,  in  th 
Scripture  narrative,  by  the  one  word  'hardened.'  (i)  Chazak,  whic 
signifies  actively,  to  bind  together.  (2)  Cabad,  to  be  heavy ;  and,  i 
the  hiphil  form,  to  make  heavy;  to  resist  sullenly,  with  proud  an 
stupid  obstinacy.  (3)  Kashah,  to  be  hard,  and  to  make  hard.  Th 
following  table  is  given  as  exhibiting  the  process  of  obduracy  in  th 
case  of  Pharaoh  : 

Prophecy,    Chazak,  Ex.    iv.  21.  '  I  will  harden  his  heart.' 

„         Kashah,  vii.    3.  '  I  will  harden  Pharaoh's  heart.' 


History.      Chazak, 

„  Cabad, 

„  Chazak, 

„  Cabad, 

„  Chazak, 

Cabad, 
Cabad, 


vii.  13.  Literally,   as  Sept-  and    Vulg.,  '  Pharaoh's  heai 
resisted.' 

vii.  14.   *  Pharaoh's  heart  is  hardened.' 

vii.  22.   '  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened.' 
viii.  15.   '  Pharaoh  hardened  his  heart.' 
viii.  19.    '  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened.' 
viii.  32.   '  Pharaoh  hardened  his  heart.' 

ix.    7.   '  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened.' 


Thus,  then,  it  appears  that  it  is  said  seven  times  that  Pharaoh's  hear 
was  hardened,  or  that  Pharaoh  hardened  his  heart.  And  not  till  the, 
is  it  said  that — 

Chazak,  Ex.    ix.  12.    '  The  Lord  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart' 

But  this  was  not  till  he  had  been  abandoned  even  by  his  owi 
magicians,  so  that  his  obduracy  was  now  most  wilful. 

Cabad,     Ex.    ix.  34.   '  He  (Pharaoh)  hardened  his  heart.' 
Chazak,    ,,      ix.  35.   '  The  heart  of  Pharaoh  was  hardened.' 
Cabad,      ,,       x.    i.   '  The  Lord  said,  I  have  hardened  his  heart,  am 
the  heart  of  his  servants.' 

But  even  then  he  might  have  repented,  for  his  servants  did  repen 
(see  ch.  x.  7). 
Pharaoh  would  not  repent :  and  then  came  the  heavier  aggravatior 


HARDENING  PHARA OH 'S  HEART.      1 1 1 

Divine  judgment ;  and  it  is  observable  that  it  is  now  said  four 
nes  (with  the  stronger  word  Chazak\  '  The  Lord  hardened  Pharaoh's 
jart*  (see  ch.  x.  20,  27  ;  xi.  10;  xiv.  8).  Pharaoh's  will  was  therefore 
*e.  God's  foreknowledge  had  no  constraining  influence  on  Pharaoh's 
mduct  towards  God,  but  had  a  directing  influence  on  God's  conduct 
id  language  towards  him.  God's  foreknowledge  does  not  cause  any- 
ing  to  be,  no  more  than  man's  remembrance  causes  anything  to  have 
en. 

The  Speakers  Commentary  remarks  that  *  Calamities  which  do 
)t  subdue  the  heart  harden  it.  The  hardening  itself  is  judicial  and 
st,  when  it  is  a  consequence  of  previously  formed  habits.  The 
ason  why  the  action  of  God,  rather  than  the  character  of  Pharaoh, 

dwelt  on  in  this  passage  would  seem  to  be  that  it  was  necessary  to 
istain  the  spirit  of  Moses  and  the  people  during  the  process  of 
/ents,  which  they  were  thus  taught  were  altogether  foreseen  and 
redetermined  by  God.' 

Francis  Jacox,  in  his  Secular  Annotations,  ii.  238,  gives  some 
iteresting  illustrations.  'It  is  written  that  Pharaoh  hardened  his 
eart,  and  this  again  and  again ;  as  well  as,  and  we  may  be  sure  to 
il  intents  and  purposes  antecedently  to,  the  fact  that  the  Lord  hard- 
ned  Pharaoh's  heart.  Pharaoh  would  have  it  so.  Judicial  blindness 
at  in  after  a  time ;  but  first  there  had  been  cause  shown  in  Heaven's 
hancery  court.  The  infatuation  was  beyond  remedy.  The  ossifica- 
on  of  the  heart  involved  in  its  progress  and  development  paralysis 
f  the  brain.  Dementation  was  now  the  precursor  of  perdition. 

'  It  is  those  who  do  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge  that 
re  said  by  the  apostle  to  be  by  God  given  over  to  a  reprobate  mind, 
t  is  of  those  who  distinctly  and  emphatically  have  pleasure  in 
nrighteousness  that  he  says,  'And  for  this  cause  God  shall  send 
lem  strong  delusion,  that  they  should  believe  a  lie/  which  dementa- 
on  should  involve  their  doom.  They  grope  in  the  dark  without 
ght,  and  He  maketh  them  to  stagger  like  a  drunken  man. 

"  For  wicked  ears  are  deaf  to  wisdom's  call, 
And  vengeance  strikes  whom  Heaven  has  doomed  to  fall," 

ays  the  Homeric  Odysseus ;  and  again — 

**  For  Zeus  infatuates  all,  and  all  believe  a  lie.'* 
hid  in  another  place  we  see  Athene, 

"  Cloud  with  intellectual  gloom 
The  suitors'  soul,  insensate  of  their  doom." 

in  the  "  Iliad  "  again,  we  have  the  Trojans  given  over  to  welcome 
atal  counsel. 


ii2      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

"  The  shouting  host  in  loud  applauses  joined, 
So  Pallas  robbed  the  many  of  their  mind ; 
To  their  own  sense  condemned  !  and  left  to  choose 
The  worst  advice,  the  better  to  refuse." 

'  Cicero,  in  his  account  to  the  people  of  Rome  of  the  Catiline  coi 
spiracy,  alleged  that  the  conspirators  must  needs  be  under  a  divir 
and  judicial  infatuation,  and  could  never  have  acted  as  they  had  dor 
if  the  gods  had  not  confounded  their  senses. 

*  It  is  with  a  sort  of  rage  at  the  inaptitude  of  King  James  II 
(of  England)  that  his  sometime  adherent,  Colonel  Esmond,  thinks  » 
his  melancholy  story.  "  Do  the  Fates  deal  more  specially  with  kin^ 
than  with  common  men  ?  One  is  apt  to  imagine  so,  in  considerir 
the  history  of  that  royal  race,  in  whose  behalf  so  much  fidelity,  s 
much  valour,  so  much  blood  were  desperately  and  bootless 
expended." 

'To  another  class  of  reprobate  minds  apply  Sir  Henry  Taylor 
lines,  the  truth  of  which  is  signally  enforced  by  every  police  cou 
register  and  Newgate  Calendar : 

"  That  Providence,  which  makes  the  good  take  heed 
To  safety  and  success,  contrariwise 
Makes  villains  mostly  reckless.     Look  on  life, 
And  you  will  see  the  crimes  of  blackest  dye 
So  clumsily  committed,  by  such  sots, 
So  lost  to  thought,  so  scant  of  circumspection, 
As  shall  constrain  you  to  pronounce  that  guilt 
Bedarkens  and  confounds  the  mind  of  man. 
Human  intelligence,  on  murders  bent, 
Becomes  a  midnight  fumbler  ;  human  will, 
Of  God  abandoned,  in  its  web  of  snares 
Strangles  its  own  intent." ' 

Prof.  Rawlinson,  in  his  recent  work  on  'Egypt  and  Babylon 
gives  an  estimate  of  the  character  of  Menephthah,  the  Pharaoh  of  th 
Exodus,  which  materially  helps  us  towards  the  understanding  of  th 
Scripture  narrative.  '  He  is  an  oppressor  as  merciless  as  either  of  hi 
predecessors,  as  deaf  to  pity,  as  determined  to  crush  the  aspiration 
of  the  Hebrews  by  hard  labour.  To  this  harshness  and  cruelty  c 
temper  he  adds  a  remarkable  weakness  and  vacillation.  He  seem 
to  have  been  deficient  in  personal  courage,  and  grossly  and  abnoi 
mally  superstitious.' 

M.  Lenormant  begins  hi  account  of  Menephthah  by  observing 
*  Moreover,  he  was  neither  a  soldier  nor  an  administrator,  but  on< 
whose  mind  was  turned  almost  exclusively  towards  the  chimeras  c 
sorcery  and  magic,  resembling  in  this  respect  his  brother,  Kha-m-uas 
The  book  of  Exodus  is  in  the  most  exact  agreement  with  historica 
truth  when  it  depicts  him  as  surrounded  hj  riest-magicians,  witl 


LA  WS  CONCERNING  AMMONITE  AND  MOABITE.    1 1 3 

whom  Moses  contends  in  working  prodigies,  in  order  to  affect  the 
mind  of  Pharaoh/ 

The  Egyptian  monuments  confirm  three  leading  features  in  the 
character  of  Menephthah, — his  superstitiousness,  his  want  of  courage, 
and  his  weak,  shifty,  false  temper.  Weak  men  are  often  hopelessly 
stupid  and  stubborn  at  times ;  and  it  is  a  common  mistake  of  such 
men  to  mistake  stubbornness  for  strength. 

The  explanation  of  Pharaoh's  hardened  heart  may  be  summed  up 
in  a  brief  sentence.  '  God  did  not  make  Pharaoh  sin,  but  He  had  ta 
punish  him  for  it.  From  righteous  retribution  for  obdurate  impeni 
tence  there  is  no  escape.' 

*  Aye  !  when  them  hast  drained  a  swallow's  milk,  and 
Seen  rocks  bear  olive  nuts,  the  sand  pomegranates  yield, 
A  harder  task  to  try  thy  vaunted  force  remains — 
To  shield  a  wicked  man  from  retribution's  pains/ 

From  an  Oriental  Poem. 

Laws  concerning  the  Ammonite  and  Moabite. 

DEUTERONOMY  xxiii.  3, 6  :  'An  Ammonite  or  a  Moabite  shall  not  enter  into  the 
assembly  of  the  Lord  ;  even  to  the  tenth  generation  shall  none  belonging  to  them 
enter  into  the  assembly  of  the  Lord  for  ever.  .  .  .  Thou  shalt  not  seek  their 
peace  nor  their  prosperity  all  thy  days  for  ever.' 

Difficulty. — Does  not  such  an  injunction  give  the  Divine  sanction 
to  a  spirit  of  hatred  and  revenge  ? 

Explanation. — We  may  not  put  our  limitations  on  the  forms 
that  Divine  judgment  may  take.  The  continuous  enmity  of  a  neigh- 
bouring race  was  the  form  which  the  Divine  judgment  on  Ammon 
and  Moab  took.  Viewed  from  this  side,  no  difficulty  is  created. 
But  it  may  be  asked  whether  the  influence  of  such  cherished  enmity 
by  Israel  was  not  injurious  to  it,  as  nourishing  evil  sentiments  and 
feelings.  In  reply,  it  may  be  urged  that  the  enmity  was  public  and 
national,  and  in  no  way  private  and  personal.  We  can  best  represent 
the  distinction  by  calling  to  mind  the  English  sentiment  concerning 
the  French  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago.  Publicly  nation  hated 
nation ;  but  privately  and  individually  mutual  kindnesses  were  shown. 
Race  hatreds  must  be  distinguished  from  personal  hatreds;  and 
these  race  hatreds  have  an  important  influence  on  the  movements, 
relations,  uprisings  and  downfallings,  of  nations.  The  evil  oi  revenge 
comes  out  when  it  is  the  feeling  animating  individual  against  indi- 
vidual. Race  feeling  concerns  an  ideal,  not  a  person. 

Saalschutz,  quoted  in  '  Speaker's  Commentary/  remarks  that  this 
law  forbids  only  the  naturalization  of  those  against  whom  it  is  directed. 
It  does  not  forbid  their  dwelling  in  the  land ;  and  seems  to  refer 

3 


ii4       HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

lather  to  the  nations  than  to  individuals.  It  was  not  understood,  at 
any  rate,  to  interdict  marriage  with  a  Moabitess.' 

Further  indications  of  the  relations  in  which  Israel  should  stand  to 
the  Moabites  and  Ammonites  are  given  in  Deut.  ii.  9,  19  :  'Distress 
not  the  Moabites,  neither  contend  with  them  in  battle.  .  .  .  When 
thou  comest  nigh  over  against  the  children  of  Ammon,  distress  them 
not,  nor  meddle  with  them/  So  we  understand  that  the  injunctions 
given  amount  to  this  only  :  Keep  separate  from  Moab  and  Ammon  ; 
do  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  them,  and  do  not  let  them  in  any 
way  interfere  with  you.  It  must,  however,  be  recognised  that  subse- 
quent events  greatly  embittered  the  race  relations. 

Jamieson  explains  the  passage,  and  the  connection  in  which  it 
stands,  thus  :  *  To  "enter  into  the  congregation  of  the  Lord  "  means 
either  admission  to  public  honours  and  offices  in  the  Church  and 
State  of  Israel,  or,  in  the  case  of  foreigners,  incorporation  with  that 
nation  by  marriage.  The  rule  was,  that  strangers  and  foreigners,  for 
fear  of  friendship  or  marriage  connections  with  them  leading  the 
people  into  idolatry,  were  not  admissible  till  their  conversion  to  the 
Jewish  rule.  But  some  parts  were  excluded  from  the  full  rights  and 
privileges  of  citizenship.  Among  these  were  Ammonites  and 
Moabites— for  without  provocation  they  combined  to  engage  a  sooth- 
sayer to  curse  the  Israelites,  and  further  endeavoured,  by  ensnaring 
them  into  the  guilt  and  licentious  abominations  of  idolatry,  to  seduce 
them  from  their  allegiance  to  God,  and  thereby  make  them  forfeit 
the  privileges  of  their  national  covenant.  The  offence  of  the  Am- 
monites and  Moabites  was  an  aggravated  one.  It  was  not  only  a 
denial  of  common  hospitality  and  kindness  to  strangers  and  pilgrims, 
but  it  was  a  scheme  of  premeditated  villainy,  indicating  deep  malice 
and  inextinguishable  hatred.  Their  exclusion,  therefore,  as  avowed 
public  enemies,  was  perpetual  and  immutable.' 

The  Sin  of  Numbering  the  People. 

2  SAMUEL  xxiv.  i  :  '  And  again  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against 
Israel,  and  he  moved  David  against  them,  saying,  Go,  number  Israel  and  Judah.' 

I  CHRONICLES  xxi.  I  :  'And  Satan  stood  up  against  Israel,  and  moved  David 
to  number  Israel.' 

Difficulty. —  Which  account  of  the  source  of  the  suggestion  to 
number  the  people  is  to  be  accepted  ;  and  why^  if  taking  census  was  right 
at  other  times ;  was  it  wrong  on  this  particular  occasion  ? 

Explanation. — It  is  necessary  first  to  be  sure  of  the  precise 
renderings  of  these  two  verses,  and  then  to  remember  that  we  have 
in  them  the  personal  opinion  and  judgment  of  two  different  historians 


THE  SIN  OF  NUMBERING  THE  PEOPLE.       115 

of  the  same  events :  and  the  statements  should  be  compared  as 
opinions,  and  not  as  inspired  explanations  of  the  true  causes.  We 
can  accept  the  facts,  and  use  our  own  judgments  on  the  opinions, 
testing  the  explanations  offered  by  the  general  principles  and  truths 
revealed  in  the  Scripture.  We  need  not  assume  that  the  Divine 
inspiration  ensures  the  absolute  correctness  of  historians'  sentiments 
and  reflections.  The  fact  that  these  two  opinions  so  vitally  differ 
suggests  that  we  may  choose  between  them,  or  form  a  sounder  and 
more  Scriptural  judgment  respecting  the  matter,  in  dependence  on 
the  leading  and  teaching  of  God's  Holy  Spirit. 

The  word  Satan  would  have  been  more  correctly  translated  an 
adversary ;  and  the  sentence  in  Samuel  would  be  more  correctly 
rendered,  *  One  moved  David  against  them.'  The  simple  historical 
fact  seems  to  be  that  one  of  the  courtiers  pressed  this  evil  advice  on 
the  king ;  and  the  Bible  writers  properly  see  in  such  a  man  a  tempter, 
an  adversary,  a  Satan ;  and  they  as  properly  recognise,  in  all  the  con- 
sequences that  follow,  the  outworking  of  Divine  judgments.  In  this 
instance  the  adversary  is  treated  as  a  Divine  agency  used  for  the 
testing  of  God's  people  by  temptation  to  sin.  If  we  fully  accept  the 
idea  of  the  Divine  education  and  training  of  men,  it  will  be  no  diffi- 
culty to  us  that  times  of  moral  trial  should  be  found,  and  subjection 
to  evil  enticements  should  form  part  of  the  Divine  plan.  We  know 
that  God  tries  and  tests  us  by  things,  and  it  should  not  be  difficult 
for  us  to  realize  that  He  may  try  and  test  us  by  persons.  This  is, 
indeed,  our  most  subtle  and  most  severe  form  of  testing. 

We  may  not  separate  any  of  the  things  happening  to  us  in  life  from 
the  Divine  purpose  and  overruling.  AVhat  we  call  evil  is  properly 
seen  as  part  of  the  Divine  agency  for  our  moral  culture.  Divine 
overrulings  do  not  change  the  character  or  quality  of  things,  but  they 
directly  affect  the  result  of  things.  All  life  is  probation.  We  are 
being  moulded  in  righteousness.  So  we  find  that  even  these  strange 
Satanic  temptations  serve  gracious  Divine  purposes  in  the  individual 
man  ;  and  when  we  cannot  see  this,  we  may  see  that  they  serve 
gracious  Divine  purposes  in  the  warning  and  teaching  of  others, 
and  that  some  of  us  may  even,  as  David,  stumble  unto  falling, 
vicariously. 

The  narrative  does  not  clearly  and  explicitly  state  what  David's, 
idea  was  in  thus  commanding  a  census  to  be  made.  Probably  he 
desired  to  know  the  numbers  of  the  people  of  his  kingdom,  as  it  had 
been  extended  by  successful  war ;  but  this  he  wished  rather  for  his 
own  self-glorying  than  for  national  purposes.  It  was  an  act  of  self- 
will,  and  it  failed  from  full  loyalty  to  the  theocratic  idea,  which  had 

8—* 


n6      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

been  so  well  maintained  during  David's  reign.  In  just  this  lay  its  sin 
and  mischief.  Dean  Stanley  calls  the  taking  of  this  census  'an 
attempt  not  unnaturally  suggested  by  the  increase  of  his  power,  but 
implying  a  confidence  and  pride  alien  to  the  spirit  inculcated  on  the 
kings  of  the  chosen  people.  The  apprehension  of  a  Nemesis  on  any 
overweening  display  of  prosperity,  if  not  consistent  with  the  highes* 
revelations  of  the  Divine  nature  in  the  Gospel,  pervades  all  ancient, 
especially  all  Oriental,  religions.'  And  Ewald  says  :  '  The  only  satis 
factory  explanation  of  this  measure  is  that  it  was  intended  as  the 
foundation  of  an  organized  and  vigorous  government,  like  that  of 
Egypt  or  Phoenicia,  under  which  the  exact  number  of  the  houses  and 
inhabitants  of  every  city  and  village  would  have  to  be  obtained,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  summon  the  people  for  general  taxation.  But  it  is  well 
known  what  a  profound  aversion  and  what  an  instinctive  abhorrence 
certain  nations,  ancient  and  modern,  harbour  against  any  such  design, 
which  they  dimly  suspect,  not  perhaps  without  good  reason,  is  likely 
to  result  in  a  dangerous  extension  of  the  governing  power,  and  its 
encroachment  on  the  sanctity  of  the  private  home.' 

Why  God's  wrath  was  kindled  against  the  nation  at  this  particular 
time  is  not  told  us,  but  the  most  reasonable  supposition  is,  that  it  was 
connected  with  the  national  share  in  the  rebellion  of  Absalom.  And 
the  suggestions  of  the  court-officer,  who  in  effect  became  an  adversary, 
may  very  well  have  been  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  get  the 
kingdom  organized,  and  properly  under  control,  so  as  to  prevent  such 
a  surprise  as  had  been  effected  by  Absalom. 

The  mere  taking  of  a  census  could  not  be  in  itself  a  wrong,  since 
it  was  even  required  (Exod.  xxx.  12).  See  also  Num.  i  ;  xxvi. 

As  illustrative  of  the  sentiment  that  still  prevails  respecting  an 
official  numbering  of  the  people,  Van  Lennep  says  that  no  census, 
properly  speaking,  is  ever  taken  in  the  East,  but  the  taxes  are  assessed 
upon  the  households.  A  record  is  kept  of  all  who  have  reached  the 
age  of  eighteen,  and  are,  therefore,  deemed  capable  of  bearing  arms ; 
they  are  often  spoken  of  as  so  many  guns  or  muskets. 

Solomon's  Marriage  to  Pharaoh's  Daughter. 

I  KINGS  iii.  I  :  *  And  Solomon  made  affinity  with  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  and 
took  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  brought  her  into  the  city  of  David.' 

Difficulty. — How  could  a  king  of  Israel  marry  an  Egyptian 
princess  without  violating  a  fundamental  law  of  the  Mosaic  economy, 
and  bringing  on  himself  the  judgment  of  God  ? 

Explanation. — It  is  customary  to  reply  to  this  question  that 
Solomon  required  the  princess  to  become  a  proselyte  to  Mosaism, 


SOLOMON'S  MARRIAGE.  1 1 7 

md  that  in  this  way  he  avoided  the  application  to  himself  of  the 
Vlosaic  rule.  In  support  of  this  view  it  is  contended  that  he  is  never 
eproved  for  this  alliance ;  that  among  the  idolatries  introduced 
luring  his  later  reign  there  is  no  trace  of  the  Egyptian  system  ;  and 
hat  the  expression  used  in  Psalm  xlv.  10  seems  to  indicate  that  this 
princess  did  change  her  religion. 

On  the  other  side  may  be  urged  that  Solomon  had  married  an 
\mmonitess  woman  before  this,  one  Naamah  (see  i  Kings  xi.  42 ; 
tiv.  21  ;  2  Chron.  xii.  13),  who  became  the  mother  of  Rehoboam.  If 
:herefore  seems  necessary  to  inquire  whether  we  have  properly  under- 
stood the  applications,  and  limitations  of  application,  of  the  Mosaic 
rule.  It  will  be  well  for  us  to  have  the  passages  embodying  the  law 
fully  before  us. 

Exodus  xxxiv.  12,  16,  reads  as  follows  in  the  Revised  Version : 
'  Take  heed  to  thyself  lest  thou  make  a  covenant  with  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land  whither  thou  goest  .  .  .  and  thou  take  of  their  daughters 
unto  thy  sons,  and  their  daughters  go  a-whoring  after  their  gods,  and 
make  thy  sons  go  a-whoring  after  their  gods.'  So  far  as  this  passage 
is  concerned,  the  objection  is  clearly  to  the  races  occupying  Canaan 
at  the  time  of  the  Israelite  invasion,  and  to  them  alone.  This  com- 
mand does  not,  even  by  inference,  exclude  marriage  with  the  women 
of  distant  and  separate  nations.  It  is  designed  to  prevent  a  certain 
particular  form  of  evil — the  subtle  introduction  of  that  Canaanite 
idolatry,  against  which,  in  all  its  forms,  the  severest  judgments  of 
God  were  denounced. 

Deuteronomy  vii.  i,  3,  reads  thus  :  'When  the  Lord  thy  God  shall 
bring  thee  into  the  land  whither  thou  goest  to  possess  it,  and  shall 
cast  out  many  nations  before  thee,  the  Hittite,  and  the  Girgashite,  and 
the  Amorite,  and  the  Canaanite,  and  the  Perizzite,  and  the  Hivite, 
and  the  Jebusite,  seven  nations  greater  and  mightier  than  thou  .  .  . 
thou  shalt  make  no  covenant  with  them,  nor  shew  mercy  unto  them ; 
neither  shalt  thou  make  marriages  with  them  ;  thy  daughter  thou 
shalt  not  give  unto  his  son  ;  nor  his  daughter  shalt  thou  take  unto 
thy  son.'  It  is  evident  that  the  rule,  as  expressed  in  this  passage,  is 
as  strictly  limited  to  the  Canaanite  races  of  Palestine  as  was  the 
former  passage.  Neither  gives  us  any  comprehensive  rule  applicable 
to  all  other  nations  :  both  deal  entirely  with  the  degraded  races  who 
at  one  particular  period  occupied  Canaan. 

Then,  if  we  look  at  the  actual  history  of  the  Jewish  race,  we  shall 
find  no  such  strict  law  of  marriage  limitation  within  the  race  as  we 
have  imagined  to  exist.  Joseph,  without  rebuke,  married  a  daughter 
of  Potipherah  (Gen.  xli  45).  Moses  married  a  wife  of  Midian 


n8     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

(Exod.  ii.  21),  and  possibly  a  second  wife  of  Ethiopia  (Num.  xii.  i). 
He  is,  indeed,  for  this  reproached  by  Miriam  and  Aaron ;  but  their 
objection  lay  against  the  influence  of  the  woman,  and  not  against  the 
fact  that  she  was  a  Cushite.  (We  think  the  person  referred  to  was 
Zipporah,  Moses'  only  wife,  who  was  an  Arabian  Cushite.)  Salmon 
married  Rahab  of  Jericho,  and  Boaz  married  Ruth  of  Moab.  David 
seems  to  have  felt  free  to  ally  himself  thus  with  his  neighbouring 
kingdo.ms. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  specific  permission  of  alliance  with  distant 
nations  in  marriage,  which  has  been  too  little  noticed.  In  Deut. 
xx.  10-14  are  found  instructions  as  to  what  Israel  should  do  when 
they  are  called  to  besiege  and  take  the  city  of  an  enemy  :  '  When  the 
Lord  shall  deliver  it  into  thine  hand,  thou  shalt  smite  every  male 
thereof  with  the  edge  of  the  sword ;  but  the  women,  and  the  little 
ones,  and  the  cattle,  and  all  that  is  in  the  city,  even  all  the  spoil 
thereof,  shalt  thou  take  for  a  prey  unto  thyself.'  And  then  it  is  sig- 
nificantly added  :  *  Thus  shalt  thou  do  unto  all  the  cities  which  are 
very  far  off  from  thee,  which  are  not  of  the  cities  of  these  nations.  But 
of  the  cities  of  these  peoples  .  .  .  thou  shalt  save  alive  nothing  that 
breatheth.' 

It  does  not  appear,  therefore,  that  Solomon  broke  any  Mosaic  law 
by  marrying  Egyptian  or  other  princesses.  The  complaint  made  in 
his  later  years  is  not  of  his  marrying  the  wives,  but  of  his  giving  way 
to  the  evil  influence  of  the  wives. 

If  careful  attention  be  paid  to  the  distress  of  the  returned  captives, 
for  whom  Ezra  sought  to  legislate  (Ezra  x.  i-io),  it  will  be  seen  that 
it  was  not  occasioned  by  their  marrying  strange  or  foreign  women, 
but  by  their  marrying  women  of  the  people  of  the  land ;  this  being 
recognised  as  the  precise  limit  of  the  Mosaic  prohibition. 

The  only  other  passage  to  which  we  need  refer  is  Nehemiah 
xiii.  26.  Nehemiah,  translating  freely  the  term  '  people  of  the  land/ 
assumed  the  prohibition  to  include  the  women  of  Ashdod,  of  Ammon, 
and  of  Moab  ;  but  there  is  no  authority  for  his  particular  recognition 
of  the  sphere  of  the  law.  And  when  referring  to  Solomon,  Nehemiah's 
point  is  that  these  foreign  wives  proved  a  snare  to  Solomon :  they 
'  caused  him  to  sin.' 

On  the  whole,  it  seems  safe  to  assert  that  neither  rule  nor  custom 
made  Solomon's  marriage  to  the  Egyptian  princess  a  forbidden  thing, 
and  that  we  have  failed  to  observe  the  very  precise  limitation  of  the 
marriage  injunctions  given  by  Jehovah  to  His  people. 

While  treating  of  this  subject  we  may  add  the  Rev.  George  Raw- 
limoris  latest  note  on  the  identification  of  this  princess  :  *  There  is 


SOLOMON'S  MARRIAGE.  119 

lothing  surprising  in  the  willingness  of  a  Pharaoh  of  the  twenty-first 
lynasty  to  give  a  daughter  in  marriage  to  the  foreign  monarch  of  a 
icighbouring  country.  Even  in  the  most  flourishing  times  the  kings 
>f  Egypt  had  been  willing  to  form  matrimonial  alliances  with  the 
Ethiopian  royal  house,  and  had  both  taken  Ethiopian  princesses  for 
heir  own  wives,  and  given  their  daughters  in  marriage  to  Ethiopian 
nonarchs.  The  last  king  of  the  twentieth  dynasty  married  a  "  princess 
)f  Baktan,"  a  Syrian  or  Mesopotamian ;  and  even  the  great  Rameses 
named  a  Hittite.  According  to  i  Chronicles  iv.  18,  there  was  one 
Pharaoh  who  allowed  a  daughter  of  his  to  marry  a  mere  ordinary 
Israelite.  To  "  make  affinity"  with  a  prince  of  Solomon's  rank  and 
position  would  have  been  beneath  the  dignity  of  few  Egyptian 
-nonarchs ;  it  was  probably  felt  as  a  highly  satisfactory  connection 
Dy  the  weak  Tanite  Pharaoh,  whose  daughter  made  so  good  a 
match. 

*  With  which  of  the  Tanite  monarchs  it  was  that  Solomon  thus 
allied  himself  is  uncertain.  M.  Lenormant  fixes  definitely  on  Hor- 
Pasebensha,  or  Pasebensha  II.,  the  last  king  of  the  dynasty ;  but  an 
earlier  monarch  is  more  probable.  Solomon's  marriage  was  early  in 
his  reign  (i  Kings  iii.  i),  and  he  reigned  forty  years  (ch.  xi.  42), 
during  the  last  five  or  ten  of  which  he  would  seem  to  have  been  con- 
temporary with  Shishak  (ch.  xi.  40).  When  he  ascended  the  throne, 
the  king  who  reigned  in  Egypt  was  probably  either  Pasebensha  I.  or 
Pinetem  II.  Unfortunately,  these  monarchs  have  left  such  scanty 
remains  that  we  know  next  to  nothing  concerning  them.' 

The  Right  and  the  Wrong  of  making  Vows. 

i  SAMUEL  i.  ii.  :  'And  she  vowed  a  vow,  and  said,  O  Lord  of  hosts,  if  thou 
wilt  indeed  look  on  the  affliction  of  thine  handmaid,  but  wilt  give  unto  thine  hand- 
maid a  man  child,  then  I  will  give  him  unto  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  his  life,  and 
there  shall  no  razor  come  upon  his  head.' 

Question. — Since  a  vow  is  a  making  of  terms  and  conditions  with 
God,  can  it  ever  be  becoming  to  a  dependent  creature  ? 

Answer. — Vows  are  wholly  unsuitable  under  the  present  Christian 
revelation ;  but  they  formed  a  fitting  part  of  a  system  which  promised 
material  and  temporal  rewards  to  obedience  and  virtue.  The  Divine 
acceptance  of  vows  implies  Divine  condescension  to  the  imperfect 
sentiments  of  an  age. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  vows  are  characteristic  of  this  particular 
age  of  the  Judges.  Samson  and  Samuel  were  put  under  the  Nazarite 
vow  ;  oath  was  taken  in  the  Benjamite  war  (Jud.  xxi.  5) ;  Jephthah 
made  vow  (Jud.  xi.  30) ;  so  did  Hannah ;  and  so  did  Saul  (i  Sam. 


120      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

xiv.  24).  According  to  the  law  given  in  Numbers  xxx.  6-8,  a  wife  had 
no  right  to  make  a  vow  of  such  a  nature  as  Hannah's  without  the 
concurrence  of  her  husband ;  and  if  it  were  made,  he  might  disallow 
it  if  it  did  not  meet  with  his  approval. 

In  the  case  of  '  vows '  we  observe  the  same  principle  working  which 
applies  to  blood-revenge,  domestic  slavery,  practice  of  retaliation,  etc. 
None  of  these  things  are  original  in  the  Mosaic  institutions  ;  they  are 
all  previously  existing  customs,  which  could  not  wisely  be  resisted, 
and  so  were  taken  up  into  the  Mosaic  system,  modified,  and  adapted 
to  new  national  conditions.  So  they  all  represent,  as  they  appear 
among  the  Jews,  a  compromise  adopted  because  the  absolute  best 
could  not  at  the  time  be  attained.  It  is  very  important  that  we 
should  bear  this  in  mind.  For  the  hardness  of  the  people's  hearts 
Moses  suffered  a  great  many  things  which  he  could  not  fully 
approve. 

'The  practice  of  making  vows — that  is,  of  incurring  voluntary 
obligations  to  the  Deity  on  fulfilment  of  certain  conditions,  such  as 
deliverance  from  death  and  danger,  success  in  enterprises,  and  the 
like — is  of  extremely  ancient  date,  and  common  in  all  systems  of 
religion.  The  earliest  Bible  mention  of  a  vow  is  that  of  Jacob.'  *  The 
Law,  therefore,  did  not  introduce,  it  only  regulated,  the  practice  of 
vows.' 

Dean  Stanley  refers  to  the  frequent  use  of  vows  as  falling  in  with 
the  wild  usages  of  the  time  of  the  Judges,  and  as  having  a  direct 
affinity  with  Phoenician  customs.  '  One  memorable  instance  of  a 
Phoenician  vow  has  been  handed  down  to  us,  so  solemn  in  its  origin, 
so  grand  in  its  consequences,  that  even  the  vows  of  the  most  sacred 
ages  may  well  bear  comparison  with  it.  The  impulse  from  his  early 
oath,  which  nerved  the  courage  and  patriotism  of  Hannibal  from 
childhood  to  age  in  his  warfare  against  Rome,  may  fitly  be  taken  as 
an  illustration  of  the  feeling  which,  in  its  highest  and  noblest  forms, 
led  to  the  consecration  of  Samson  and  Samuel,  and,  in  its  unautho- 
rized excesses,  to  the  rash  vows  of  the  whole  nation  against  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin,  of  Jephthah  against  his  daughter,  of  Saul  against 
Jonathan.  These  spasmodic  efforts  after  self-restraint  are  precisely 
what  we  should  expect  in  an  age  which  had  no  other  mode  of  steady- 
ing its  purposes  amidst  the  general  anarchy  in  which  it  was  enveloped ; 
and  accordingly  in  that  age  they  first  appear,  and  within  its  limits 
expire.' 

It  is  only  as  '  efforts  after  self-restraint '  that  we  can  regard  them  as 
ever  acceptable  to  God.  They  are  private  covenants,  in  which  a  man 
gets  for  himself  the  moral  help  of  being  under  a  pledge  ;  but  his  need 


CO  UNSELS  OF  DECEPTION.  1 2 1 

'  getting  such  a  moral  help  always  implies  a  certain  consciousness  of 
oral  weakness.  The  Christian  ought  not  to  need  any  such  bolster- 
g  up  of  his  purposes  and  endeavours ;  it  should  be  enough  for 
m  that  '  he  can  do  all  things  through  Christ,  which  strengtheneth 

m1 

Counsels  of  Deception. 

I  SAMUEL  xvi.  2  :  •  And  Samuel  said,  How  can  I  go  ?  if  Saul  hear  it,  he  will 
11  me.  And  the  Lord  said,  Take  an  heifer  with  thee,  and  say,  I  am  come  to 
crifice  to  the  Lord.' 

Difficulty. — Can  such  a  direction  to  deceive  possibly  have  been 
'ven  by  One  who  is  spoken  of  as  '  a  God  of  truth  and  without 
liquity  ? 

Explanation. — Samuel  had  to  deal  with  a  man  who  was  virtually 
isane,  and  the  ordinary  rules  of  straightforward  dealing  cannot  be 
pplied  to  such  persons.  Their  foibles  must  be  met,  and  every  effort 
mst  be  made  to  avoid  irritating  them.  Saul,  at  this  time,  was  in  a 
lost  depressed  and  suspicious  mood.  His  mind  was  quite  off  the 
alance,  and  it  was  necessary  to  treat  him  in  such  a  way  as  not  to 
Kcite  his  mania.  From  God's  merciful  treatment  of  the  insane,  we 
annot  reasonably  take  up  a  reproach  against  Him,  or  find  models 
>r  our  relations  with  people  who  are  in  their  right  minds. 

Samuel  could  honourably  adopt  a  device  which  sufficiently  explained 
is  movements,  and  kept  back  inquiries  as  to  his  more  secret  pur- 
oses.  He  could  fairly  take  precautions  for  his  own  life.  And  the 
evice  suggested  was  one  so  simple  that  no  one  could  possibly  be  in- 
ired  by  carrying  it  out.  Properly  and  precisely  speaking,  no  one 
•as  deceived  by  it ;  all  that  it  did  was,  check  inquiry  and  suspicion. 
*.s  we  can  clearly  see  that  such  an  innocent  adaptation  to  circum- 
:ances  would  be  quite  consistent  and  proper  in  a  truth-loving  man, 
nd  would  only  be  regarded  as  a  sign  of  practical  wisdom,  we  ought 
ot  to  find  any  difficulty  in  admitting  that  such  a  suggestion  might 
ome  from  the  truthful  God.  So  long  as  men  of  various  infirmity  and 
rnorance  have  to  come  into  earthly  relations,  such  wise  adjustments 
all  be  necessary.  There  are  times  to  hide  as  well  as  times  to 
eveal. 

'  The  jealous  suspicion  of  Saul  watched  the  prophet  so  closely  that 
e  could  only  venture  to  go  to  David's  town  driving  a  heifer  before 
im,  as  if  his  errand  had  been  to  sacrifice.' 

Some  writers  look  upon  this  appeal  of  Samuel  to  God  as  a  sign  of 
is  human  infirmity.  Since  God  had  sent  him  on  this  mission,  he 
night  have  been  quite  sure  that  He  would  protect  him  in  its 
xecution. 


122      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

The  '  Speaker's  Commentary '  explains  the  appearance  of  duplich; 
sanctioned  by  Divine  authority,  and  shows  that  it  '  was  the  purpose  o 
God  that  David  should  be  anointed  at  this  time  as  Saul's  successor 
and  as  the  ancestor  and  type  of  His  Christ.  It  was  not  the  purpos< 
of  God  that  Samuel  should  stir  up  a  civil  war  by  setting  up  David  a; 
Saul's  rival.  Secrecy,  therefore,  was  a  necessary  part  of  the  transaction 
But  secrecy  and  concealment  are  not  the  same  as  duplicity  2J\&  falsehood 
Concealment  of  a  good  purpose,  for  a  good  purpose,  is  clearly  justifi 
able — e.g.,  in  war,  in  medical  treatment,  in  State  policy,  and  in  th< 
ordinary  affairs  of  life.  In  the  Providential  government  of  the  world 
and  in  God's  dealings  with  individuals,  concealment  of  His  purpose 
till  the  proper  time  for  its  development,  is  the  rule  rather  than  tht 
exception,  and  must  be  so.  There  is,  therefore,  nothing  in  the  leas 
inconsistent  with  truth  in  the  occurrence  here  related.' 

Kitto  mentions  that  some  Jewish  writers  explain  the  taking  of  the 
heifer  for  sacrifice  by  supposing  that  there  had  been  a  man  slain  ir 
the  neighbourhood,  and  that  as  it  was  not  known  by  whom  the  crimt 
had  been  committed,  Samuel,  to  whom  such  a  case  would  naturallj 
be  referred,  went  to  sacrifice  a  heifer  according  to  the  law  as  laic 
down  in  Deuteronomy  xxi. 

The  Command  to  vex  the  Midianites. 

NUMBERS  xxv.  17,  18  :  'Vex  the  Midianites,  and  smite  them  ;  for  they  vex  yoi 
with  their  wiles,  wherewith  they  have  beguiled  you  in  the  matter  of  Beor,  and  ii 
the  matter  of  Cozbi,  the  daughter  of  the  prince  of  Midian,  their  sister,  which  wa 
slain  on  the  day  of  the  plague  in  the  matter  of  Peor.' 

Difficulty. — This  appears  to  be  a  Divine  commendation  of  th*. 
principle  of  *  returning  evil  for  evil]  which  our  Lord  Jesus  Chris, 
taught  us  to  regard  as  a  wicked  and  mischievous  principle. 

Explanation. — It  is  necessary  to  distinguish  between  a  principle 
which  is  of  universal  application  to  individuals,  and  the  relations  o 
individuals,  and  a  principle  which  may  be  temporarily  set  aside  ir 
public  and  national  relations,  under  sufficiently  important  considera 
tions  ;  and  if  we  are  fairly  to  judge  what  are  adequate  considerations 
we  must  carefully  estimate  the  customs  and  sentiments  of  the  age  ir 
which  it  is  judged  right  to  set  the  general  principle  aside. 

In  the  case  now  before  us,  Moses  had,  under  the  Divine  direction 
to  deal  with  a  matter  of  singular  difficulty.  Unable  to  hinder  tht 
Israelites  from  advancing  towards  Canaan,  the  Moabites  anc 
Midianites  united  to  corrupt  the  people  of  Israel  by  enticing  tht 
men  to  attend  the  lascivious  feasts  and  sacrifices  of  their  nationa 
gods,  hoping  thereby  to  bring  down  on  Israel  the  crushing  judgments 


THE  COMMAND  TO   VEX  THE  MIDIANITES.     123 

Jehovah.  It  was  a  very  subtle  and  very  dangerous  scheme,  and 
a  sad  extent  it  seems  to  have  succeeded.  But  when  the  judgment 
d  fallen,  and  the  vindication  of  Jehovah  had  been  made,  it  was 
jnd  necessary  to  create  a  public  sentiment,  in  relation  to  these 
npters,  which  would  henceforth  prevent  their  exercising  any 
rrupting  influence.  They  must  be  regarded  as  public  enemies, 
d  the  memory  of  their  wicked  enticements  must  henceforth  keep 
rael  separate  from  them. 

The  term  that  is  used,  'vex  the  Midianites,'  recalls  the  act  of 
linehas,  who  personally  dealt  with  a  case  of  immorality  which  was 
ought  into  the  camp ;  and  the  idea  seems  to  be  that  the  people 
ould  see  to  cleansing  the  corrupting  influence  away  by  personally 
Baling  with  cases  of  evil,  as  Phinehas  had  dealt  with  these  two, 
mri  and  Cozbi.  Baumgarten  expresses  this,  in  the  following 
ntence :  *  In  order  that  the  practical  zeal  of  Phinehas  against  sin, 
r  which  expiation  had  been  made  for  the  guilt,  might  be  adopted 
f  all  the  nation.' 

It  is  singular  that  Midian,  and  not  Moab,  should  be  singled  out 
r  this  judgment ;  but  from  Numbers  xxii.  4,  7,  we  learn  that 
[idian  was  confederate  with  Moab  in  resisting  Israel ;  and  we  are 
d  to  understand  that  Midian  took  the  more  prominent  part  in  the 
sidious  scheme  for  securing  the  ruin  of  Israel  by  idolatry  and 
eruption. 

The  Divine  command  to  smite  the  Midianites,  and  so  execute  the 
•ivine  judgments  on  their  iniquity,  was  obeyed  as  narrated  in 
lapter  xxxi. 

Wordsworth  says :  *  The  sin  of  the  Midianites  was  greater  (than 
lat  of  the  Moabites),  because  they  were  the  posterity  of  faithful 
.braham,  and  as  such  ought  to  have  feared  and  obeyed  Abraham's 
rod,  and  to  have  loved  His  people,  their  own  kindred ;  and  they 
ad  sufficient  opportunities  of  knowing  God  and  His  works  in  Egypt 
ad  the  wilderness/ 

Matthew  Henry  says :  '  Moses,  though  the  meekest  man,  and  far 
om  a  spirit  of  revenge,  is  ordered  to  "  vex  the  Midianites,  and 
,nite  them."  We  must  set  ourselves  against  that,  whatever  it  is, 
'hich  is  an  occasion  of  sin  to  us,  though  it  be  a  right  eye  or  a  right 
and  that  thus  offends  us.  This  is  that  holy  indignation  and  revenge 
rhich  godly  sorrow  worketh  (2  Cor.  vil  n).  God  will  certainly 
ackon  with  those  that  do  the  devil's  work  in  tempting  men  to 


i24      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Jehu's  Mission  as  Executioner. 

2  KINGS  x.  7,  etc.  :  *  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  letter  came  to  them,  tha 
they  took  the  king's  sons,  and  slew  seventy  persons,  and  put  their  heads  in  baskets 
and  sent  him  them  to  Jezreel.' 

Difficulty. — If  God  employs  an  agent  as  His  executioner,  /< 
what  extent  must  He  be  regarded  as  responsible  for  the  way  in  whict 
the  agenfs  work  is  done  ? 

Explanation. — This  difficulty  can  be  best  met  by  considering 
what  is  recognised  as  right  and  wrong  in  the  ordinary  executions  o 
common  law.  So  long  as  the  sense  of  mankind  demands  capita 
punishment  for  some  particular  crimes,  there  must  be  executioners 
But  such  men  occupy  a  strictly  official  position,  and  the  Governmen 
is  responsible  for  the  efficient  carrying  out  of  the  law-penalty,  am 
for  nothing  more.  But  it  is  quite  conceivable  that  the  executione 
may  do  his  work  in  a  bungling  way ;  he  may  cause  needless  suffer 
ing ;  he  may  be  coarse  and  heartless ;  he  may  show  persona 
animosity,  or  personal  favouritism,  in  the  doing  of  his  duty ;  but  thi 
common  sense  of  a  country  recognises  that  the  Government  i 
responsible  for  none  of  these  things,  and  that  the  executioner  ma; 
himself  be  punished  for  his  ways  of  carrying  out  his  instructions 
He  may  be  drunk  at  his  work,  and  then  he  is  dismissed  as  a  penalty 
But  the  sentence  was  still  a  righteous  sentence,  which  the  Govern 
ment  was  bound  to  see  carried  out. 

Now  we  may  see  how  this  applies  to  the  case  of  Jehu.  Capita 
sentence  on  the  royal  house  of  Ahab  had  been  pronounced,  quit( 
independently  of  Jehu,  by  the  supreme  over-Lord,  the  Judge  anc 
King  of  Israel.  At  the  appointed  time,  Jehu  was  selected  as  th( 
executioner  of  the  capital  sentence.  The  choice  was  manifestly  ar 
excellent  one.  Jehu  had  precisely  the  qualities  of  energy,  promptitude 
and  secrecy  that  fitted  him  for  the  work  of  national  executioner 
He  was  not  a  religious  man,  and  he  accepted  the  commission  simpb 
in  his  loyalty  to  Israel's  over-Lord. 

So  far  as  God  is  concerned  in  the  matter,  if  we  may  speak  of  Hirr 
as  we  speak  of  an  earthly  king  or  Government,  His  responsibility 
was  limited  to  the  passing  of  a  righteous  sentence,  and  the  selectior 
of  a  suitable  agent  for  carrying  the  sentence  into  effect.  On  Jeht 
alone  rests  the  responsibility  for  the  methods  in  which  he  fulfilled  hi; 
duty.  In  those  methods  we  see  the  terrible  brutality  characteristk 
of  the  age ;  and  the  spirit  of  the  rough  soldier,  only  too  familial 
with  bloodshedding,  and  miserably  deficient  in  his  estimate  of  the 
value  of  life.  Jehu  may  be  praised  for  fulfilling  his  commission 


JEHU'S  MISSION  AS  EXECUTIONER.  125 

he  must  be  severely  blamed  for  the  way  in  which  he  did  it. 
ceptions,  cruelties,  needless  sweeping  away  of  innocent  with  guilty, 
ther  God  nor  good  men  can  approve. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  compares  Henry  VIII.  of  England  as  a 
yal  Reformer  like  Jehu.  'Much  that  he  did,  especially  in  the 
.•rthrow  of  the  usurped  dominion  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  in 
eheading  superstition,"  as  Richard  Hooker  expresses  it,  was 
:eptable  to  God,  and  received  a  reward  and  blessing  from  Him, 
lough  the  motives  by  which  he  was  swayed,  and  also  some  of  his 
ions,  could  not  be  otherwise  than  offensive,  like  those  of  Jehi%  to 
j  God  of  holiness  and  truth.' 

Dean  Stanley's  estimate  of  Jehu's  character  will  help  in  impressing 

i  distinction  which  we  have  endeavoured  to  make  between  what 

did  and  the  way  in  which  he  did  it.     '  The  character  of  Jehu  is 

t  difficult  to  understand,  if  we  take  it  as  a  whole,  and  consider  the 

neral  impression  left  on  us  by  the  Biblical  account.     He  is  exactly 

ie  of  those  men  whom  we  are  compelled  to  recognise,  not  for  what 

good  or  great  in  themselves,  but  as  instruments  for  destroying  evil, 

d  preparing  the  way  for  good,  such  as  Augustus  Caesar  at  Rome, 

titan  Mahmoud  II.  in  Turkey,  or  one  closer  at  hand  in  the  revolu- 

>ns  of  our  own  time  and  neighbourhood.     A  destiny,  long  kept  in 

aw  by  himself  or  others — inscrutable  secrecy  and  reserve  in  carry- 

g  out  his  plans — a  union  of  cold,  remorseless  tenacity  with  occa- 

)nal  bursts  of  furious,  wayward,  almost  fanatical  zeal ;  this  is  Jehu, 

he  is  set  before  us  in  the  historical  narrative,  the  worst  type  of  a 

>n  of  Jacob — the  "  supplanter,"  as  he  is  called,  without  the  noble 

id  princely  qualities  of  Israel — the  most  unlovely,  and  the  most 

)ldly  commended,  of  all  the  heroes  of  his  country.' 

Kitto  supports  the  view  we  have  given  in  the  following  sentences : 

fehu  had  been  commissioned  to  execute  the  Lord's  judgment  upoi? 

ie  house  of  Ahab;  and  his  relentless  nature  concurred  with  his 

wn  interest  in  giving  the  widest  possible  interpretation  to  his  com- 

lission ;  while   he  was   careful,  in  every  fresh  deed  of  blood,  to 

eclare  himself  the  Lord's  avenger,  who  did  but  execute  the  orders 

iven  to  him.     No  doubt,  he  was  the  appointed  minister  of  delayed 

idgment ;  but  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that  he  used  his  commission  for 

ie  purpose  of  sweeping  away  from  his  path  all  those  from  whose 

engeance,  or  hate,  any  disturbance  might,  even  by  remote  construc- 

.on,  be  apprehended  to  his  future  reign.' 

Rev.  J.  C.  JBall,  writing  in  '  Ellicott's  Commentary,'  notices  that 
lie  word,  in  the  passage  before  us,  translated  slew,  really  means 
utchered  or  slaughtered.  '  The  way  in  which  the  writer  speaks  of 


126      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

this  massacre — "  they  took  the  king's  sons,  and  butchered  seven 
persons  " — shows  that  he  did  not  sympathize  with  Jehu's  deeds 
blood.' 

The  Destruction  of  the  Fifties. 

2  KINGS  i.  10  :  'And  Elijah  answered  and  said  to  the  captain  of  fifty,  If  I  b< 
man  of  God,  then  let  fire  come  down  from  heaven,  and  consume  thee  and  thy  fif 
And  there  came  down  fire  from  heaven,  and  consumed  him  and  his  fifty.' 

Difficulty. — This  looks  like  a  use  of  miraculous  power  to  secure  t 
prophet's  personal  safety \  and  in  such  a  use  of  his  power  he  surely  cant, 
be  justified. 

Explanation. — We  may  settle  it  at  once  that  the  power  to  c 
down  the  fire  could  not  have  been  used  for  Elijah's  personal  safet 
That  would  not  have  been,  in  the  eyes  of  God,  a  sufficient  occasi< 
for  such  a  miracle.  The  explanation  of  the  incident  must  be  foui 
in  Elijah's  official  position.  He  was  the  public  defender  of  t 
supreme  claims  of  Jehovah  in  his  generation.  He  was  Goc 
champion-soldier,  and  the  incident  before  us  now  is  strictly  a  batt 
and  must  be  treated  according  to  the  sentiments  and  rules  of  tim 
of  war. 

Remove,  for  a  moment,  the  miraculous  features  of  the  story,  and  1 
it  be  that  the  captain,  with  his  fifty,  leads  a  forlorn  hope  against  : 
enemy  standing  at  bay  in  some  strongly  fortified  position.  Let  th 
first  fifty  be  cut  to  pieces,  let  a  second  fifty  be  cut  to  pieces,  ai 
public  sentiment  would  see  nothing  unusual :  only  splendid  herois 
on  the  part  of  such  soldiers ;  but  no  cruelty,  no  wickedness,  on  tl 
part  of  the  equally  noble  defenders. 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  this  applies  to  Elijah,  who  stood  at  bay,  ai 
used  the  particular  forces  at  his  command  for  the  resistance  of  tl 
enemies  of  Jehovah,  for  whom  he  fought.  If  Ahaziah  chose  to  p 
his  soldiers  against  miraculous  forces,  that  was  his  concern,  and  he  mu 
not  be  surprised  at  overwhelming  consequences. 

Regarding  the  incident  from  a  somewhat  different  point  of  view, 
may  be  urged  that  it  occurred  under  the  reign  of  a  new  king 
Israel ;  and  the  question  was,  whether  the  great  moral  impressio 
produced  by  the  fire-scene  on  Carmel,  in  the  latter  part  of  Ahal 
reign,  were  to  be  wholly  lost  by  the  open  insult  offered  to  Jehov; 
by  the  new  king,  in  passing  by  Jehovah's  prophet,  and  seeking  .- 
oracle  from  the  god  of  Ekron. 

As  supreme  King  of  the  country,  Jehovah  could  never  permit  ope 
and  public  insults  to  pass  by  unnoticed.  But  Ahaziah  proceedc 
from  insult  to  violence.  Ahaziah  proceeded  to  force,  and  sent 
strong  guard  to  seize  Eliiah  j  and  he  must  consequently  learn,  in 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  FIFTIES.          127 

ry  striking  and  impressive  way,  that  no  man  can  contend  with 
hovah  and  prosper.  The  captain  and  his  men  are  simply  con- 
ived  as  instruments  of  a  will  opposing  itself  to  Jehovah.  The  use 
the  fire-agency  did  but  significantly  recall  the  overwhelming  fire- 
;n  of  Carmel,  and  re-affirm  the  supreme  claims  of  Jehovah. 
The  'Speaker's  Commentary'  in  part  supports  this  view.  'Ahaziah 
d,  as  it  were,  challenged  Jehovah  to  a  trial  of  strength  by  sending 
band  of  fifty  to  arrest  one  man.  He  must  have  thought  that  though 
ijah,  because  of  his  miraculous  gifts,  could  not  be  taken  by  a  few 
an,  a  band  of  fifty  could  overpower  him.  Consequently  God  was 
allenged  to  show  His  might.  ...  In  Elijah  the  spirit  of  the  law 
is  embodied  in  its  full  severity.  Over  some  prophets  the  coming 
cond  covenant  seems  in  some  sort  to  project  its  shadow.  It  is 
herwise  with  Elijah.  His  zeal  is  fierce ;  he  is  not  shocked  by 
ood  ;  he  has  no  softness  and  no  relenting.  If  the  warning  at  Horeb 
id  the  meaning  which  we  have  supposed,  he  did  not  permanently 
ofit  by  it.  He  continued  the  uncompromising  avenger  of  sin,  the 
elder  of  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  such  exactly  as  he  had  shown  him- 
if  at  Carmel.  He  is,  consequently,  no  pattern  for  Christian  men  ; 
it  his  character  is  the  perfection  of  the  purely  legal  type.  No  true 
tiristian,  after  Pentecost,  would  have  done  what  he  did  now.  But 
lat  he  did,  when  he  did  it,  was  not  sinful.  It  was  but  executing 
rict,  stern  justice.' 

Indicating  the  moral  purposes  which  were  to  be  served  by  the 
cident,  Kitlo  says  :  '  The  awful  destruction  by  fire  from  heaven — 
at  is,  we  suppose,  by  lightning — at  the  word  of  Elijah,  of  the  two 
•st  parties  sent  to  apprehend  him  must  have  tended  powerfully  to 
ipress  upon  the  nation  the  fact  that  the  Lord  still  asserted  His  right 
reign  over  them,  and  would  be  known  to  them  in  His  protesting 
dgments,  since  they  would  not  know  him  in  His  mercies.  Elijah's 
icerfully  going  with  the  third  party,  the  leader  of  which  approached 
m  with  humble  entreaties,  must  have  suggested  that  the  door  to 
ose  mercies  was  still  open  to  all  who  becomingly  approached  it. 
his  was  practical  preaching,  of  the  kind  that  this  people  could  most 
.sily  understand.' 

Jamieson  states  his  explanation  very  clearly.  *  Any  appearance  of 
uelty  that  there  is  in  the  fate  of  the  two  captains  and  their  men  will 
:  removed,  on  a  full  consideration  of  the  circumstances.  God 
iing  the  King  of  Israel,  Ahaziah  was  bound  to  govern  the  kingdom 
cording  to  the  Divine  law  :  to  apprehend  the  Lord's  prophet,  foi 
scharging  a  commanded  duty,  was  the  act  of  an  impious  and 
)torious  rebel.  The  captains  abetted  the  king  in  his  rebellion  ;  and 
ey  exceeded  their  military  duty  by  contemptuous  insults.* 


128      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES 


Moses'  Sin  in  breaking  the  Tables. 

EXODUS  xxxii.  19 :  '  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  soon  as  he  came  nigh  unto  th 
camp,  that  he  saw  the  calf  and  the  dancing  :  and  Moses'  anger  waxed  hot,  and  h 
cast  the  tables  out  of  his  hands,  and  brake  them  beneath  the  mount.' 

Question. —  Wherein  lay  the  sin  of  this  act?  It  seems  rather  to  t 
an  expression  of  very  natural,  and  very  righteous,  indignation. 

Answer. — It  is  not  usually  observed  that  the  meekness  ascribe' 
to  Moses  was  not  *  absence  of  passion,'  but  'disinterestedness 
genuine  interest  in  others  rather  than  in  self.  The  fact  appears  to  be 
that  the  principal  weakness  in  the  character  of  Moses  was  his  impuk 
iveness — his  inability  to  control  himself  in  moments  of  passion.  I 
this  direction  lay  his  *  easily  besetting  sin';  and  when  he  gave  way  t 
this  temptation  he  brought  dishonour  upon  God,  and  his  acts  becam 
sinful.  We  are  too  ready  to  suppose  that  passion  may  be  admitte 
as  an  excuse  for  wrong-doing,  and  we  need  the  Divine  reproof  an 
judgment  of  passionate  Moses  to  convince  us  that  God  counts  it  a 
evil  thing  for  a  man  to  lose  his  self-control,  and  a  wrong  thing  fc 
him  to  act  when  his  self-control  is  lost. 

We  have  several  cases  illustrating  this  weakness  of  Moses.  Rouse 
by  the  sight  of  the  Egyptian's  oppression,  he  passionately  slew  an 
buried  him.  As  in  the  passage  before  us,  excited  beyond  enduranc 
by  the  sight  of  the  calf,  he  dashed  down  the  tables.  And  later  on,  h 
was  so  annoyed  with  the  continual  murmuring  of  the  people  that  h 
roughly  smote  the  rock  to  bring  forth  water  for  them,  and  unworthil 
forgot  himself  so  far  as  to  call  the  people  names.  In  him  we  plainl 
see  that  evil  is  evil,  and  passion  is  passion,  in  good  people  as  well  a 
in  bad.  These  things  must  be  called  by  their  right  names  whereve 
they  are  found,  and  must  be  corrected  by  adequate  punishments,  eve 
in  the  best  of  people.  Moses  cannot  be  spared  the  proper  judgmer 
on  his  moral  failure. 

Matthew  Henry  takes  the  view  that  Moses  broke  the  tables  i 
order  to  convince  the  Israelites  that  they  had  forfeited  and  lost  th 
favour  of  God.  'Though  God  knew  of  their  sins,  before  Mose 
came  down,  yet  He  did  not  order  him  to  leave  the  tables  behind  hin 
but  gave  them  to  him  to  take  down  in  his  hand,  that  the  peopl 
might  see  how  forward  God  was  to  take  them  into  covenant  wit 
Himself,  and  that  nothing  but  their  own  sin  prevented  it ;  yet  He  pt 
it  into  his  heart,  when  the  iniquity  of  Ephraim  was  discovered,  t 
break  the  tables  before  their  eyes  (as  it  is  in  Deut.  ix.  17),  that  th 
sight  of  it  might  the  more  affect  them,  and  fill  them  with  confusior 


MOSES'  SIN  IN  BREAKING  THE  TABLES.     129 

when  they  saw  what  blessings  they  had  lost.  Thus,  they  being 
guilty  of  so  notorious  an  infraction  of  the  treaty  now  on  foot,  the 
writings  were  torn,  even  when  they  lay  ready  to  be* sealed.' 

George  Rawlinson  says :  *  In  righteous  indignation,  but  perhaps 
with  some  revival  of  the  hot  temper  which  had  led  him  astray  in  his 
younger  days/ 

Jamieson  sees  a  symbolical  meaning  in  the  act  of  Moses.  '  The 
arrival  of  the  leader,  like  the  appearance  of  a  spectre,  arrested  the 
revellers  in  the  midst  of  their  carnival,  and  his  act  of  righteous  indig- 
nation, when  he  dashed  on  the  ground  the  tables  of  the  law,  in  token 
that,  as  they  had  so  soon  departed  from  their  covenant  relation,  God 
would  withdraw  the  peculiar  privileges  that  He  had  promised  them — 
that  act,  together  with  the  rigorous  measures  that  followed,  forms  one 
of  the  most  striking  scenes  recorded  in  sacred  history.' 

Wordsworth  spiritualizes  :  '  The  two  tables  were  like  the  marriage- 
contract  between  God  and  His  Church,  and  these  were  broken  by 
her  idolatry — which  is  spiritual  adultery.  The  Jews  preserve  a 
memorial  of  the  breaking  of  the  tables  by  an  annual  fast  on  the  iyth 
Tamuz  (July). 

Obedience    or    Sacrifices. 

I  SAMUEL  xv.  22,  23  :  '  And  Samuel  said,  Hath  the  Lord  as  great  delight  in 
burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices  as  in  obeying  the  voice  of  the  Lord  ?  Behold,  to 
obey  is  better  than  sacrifice,  and  to  hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams.  For  rebellion  is 
as  the  sin  of  witchcraft,  and  stubbornness  is  as  idolatry  and  teraphim.' 

Question — Does  not  such  a  declaration  excuse  the  neglect  of  the 
ritual  and  ceremonial  aspects  of  religion  ? 

Answer. — Only  if  the  immediate  application  of  Samuel's  words 
is  unrecognised,  and  the  necessity  for  words  of  vigour,  firmness,  and 
almost  exaggeration  fails  to  be  seen.  Men  roused  to  intense  feeling  very 
properly  speak  strongly.  Such  times  do  not  admit  of  careful  quali- 
fication of  statement.  Qualifications  come  in  afterwards,  and  the 
statements  gain  precision.  A  reprover  ought  to  set  out  the  sin  for 
which  he  reproves  men  in  bold  relief,  fixing  the  attention  wholly 
upon  the  heinousness  and  ruinousness  of  it.  Samuel  would,  on  due 
occasion,  have  qualified  his  statement,  and  shown  that  sacrifices 
were  required  by  God  and  were  acceptable  to  Him,  because  these 
found  due  expression  for  the  spirit  of  obedience.  He  had  now  to 
deal  with  a  case  in  which  a  man  tried  to  substitute  mere  ritual  obser- 
vance for  heart-obedience,  and  openly  excused  his  moral  failure  by 
an  appeal  to  his  ceremonial  faithfulness  \  and  the  offence  of  such 
things,  in  God's  sight,  must  be  clearly  and  impressively  shown. 

9 


1 3o     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Tracing  the  growth  of  Samuel's  thoughts  respecting  the  worship 
acceptable  to  God,  Dr.  Geikie  remarks,  '  The  cessation  of  offerings 
by  the  destruction  of  the  sanctuary  (at  the  close,  of  Eli's  time 
would  soon  suggest  to  a  mind  so  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  lau 
whether,  after  all,  they  were  indispensable  to  the  pure  worship  ol 
God,  or  to  a  holy  life.  The  formal  would  be  felt  wholly  subordi- 
nate in  religion  to  the  spiritual,  and  the  highest  fulfilment  of  the  law 
would  present  itself  as  that  of  the  heart  and  life.  This  elevation  of  the 
moral  above  the  external,  indeed,  was  the  great  characteristic  of  the 
prophetic  order  of  which  Samuel  was  to  be  the  founder,  and  the 
permanent  safeguard  against  the  substitution  of  outward  form  for  the 
vitality  of  inner  religion.  The  truest  reverence  for  God  is  loving 
obedience  to  His  commands,  and  these  were  embodied  in  the  Book 
of  the  Law  which  Samuel  had  so  deeply  studied  in  Shiloh.  The 
ceremonial  was,  no  doubt,  prescribed  in  it,  and  had  its  place  in  the 
religious  economy.  But  it  was  outward  at  best.  Far  more  vita 
than  ritual  service  was  hearty  loyalty  to  the  '  Ten  Words '  spoken  b) 
God  from  Sinai,  of  which  the  whole  moral  and  spiritual  teaching  o: 
the  law  was  only  the  amplification.  Israel  could  not  have  beer 
separated  from  the  nations  merely  to  present  formal  offerings  anc 
sacrifices  to  Jehovah,  or  to  pay  Him  external  homage.  They  musi 
have  been  thus  set  apart  that,  like  Abraham,  they  should  keep  the  way  o 
the  Lord,  to  do  justice  and  judgment,  and  obey  His  voice,  and  keej 
His  charge,,  His  commandments,  His  statutes,  and  His  laws.' 

Bishop  Wordsworth  well  explains  the  figures  employed  in  verse 
23.  '  The  principle  of  this  solemn  sentence  of  Samuel  is,  that  the 
man  who  disobeys  God,  is  virtually  guilty  of  consulting  familial 
spirits,  and  of  resorting  to  sorcery,  instead  of  obeying  God's  will  a.' 
revealed  in  His  Word;  and  that  he  is  guilty  of  setting  up  idols  ir 
his  own  heart  in  the  place  of  God,  and  in  opposition  to  Him.  He 
who  disobeys  God  is  chargeable  with  infidelity  and  idolatry.  Sau 
had  been  chosen  out  of  all  the  tribes  of  Israel  by  the  Lord  to  be 
king  ;  and,  by  disobeying  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  he,  the  king  o: 
Israel,  the  chosen  servant  of  Jehovah,  had  been  guilty  of  apostas) 
from  Him,  and  had  consulted  the  familiar  spirit  of  his  own  carna 
wilfulness,  and  had  bowed  down  before  the  idols  which  he  had  made 
for  himself 

Wordsworth  also  quotes  a  fine  saying  from  5.  Gregory,  *  In  sacri 
fices  a  man  offers  only  strange  flesh,  whereas  in  obedience  he  offers 
his  own  will' 


ELISHA'S  CURSES.  131 

Elisha's   Curses. 

2  KINGS  ii.  24  :  '  And  he  turned  back,  and  looked  on  them,  and  cursed  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  And  there  came  forth  two  she  bears  out  of  the  wood,  and 
tare  forty  and  two  children  of  them.' 

Difficulty. — The  provocation  in  this  case  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
sufficient  to  call  forth  curses^  or  to  require  so  dreadful  a  punishment. 

Explanation. — Some  care  is  necessary  in  the  examination  of 
this  passage,  so  that  we  may  first  of  all  be  sure  that  we  know  precisely 
what  happened.  The  word  translated  *  little  children '  rather  means 
*  youths.'  Their  expression,  'thou  bald  head,'  was  extremely  insolent 
and  offensive,  according  to  Eastern  notions.  And  though  Elisha 
cursed  them,  the  actual  agency  of  their  punishment  was  an  ordinary 
Divine  Providence.  We  may  consider  first  wherein  lay  the  sin  of 
these  young  men ;  and  then  how  far  Elisha  was  justified  in  cursing 
them. 

Van  Lennep  gives  us  the  best  idea  of  the  class  of  young  men  who 
thus  insulted  the  prophet  '  No  one  who  has  travelled  in  the  East 
can  have  failed  to  notice  the  extreme  lawlessness  of  a  certain  class  of 
boys  and  young  men  living  on  the  outskirts  of  a  town,  especially 
towards  a  Jew,  a  Christian,  or  an  European  who  should  happen  to  be 
passing  by  alone  or  unprotected.  Let  him  go,  for  instance,  to  the 
castle  hill  of  Smyrna,  and,  if  it  be  a  holiday,  and  the  *  boys '  (oghlans) 
are  out,  he  will  perceive  stones  whizzing  past  him,  and  will  hear  the 
shouts  of  "  Frank,"  "  Hat-wearer,"  "  Giaour,"  rallying  the  rowdies  of 
the  vicinity,  and  warning  him  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat.' 

But  however  insulting  and  perilous  such  lawlessness  might  be,  it 

would  not  justify  a  man  of  God  in  cursing  the  '  boys.'     We  must 

look  more  closely  into  the  narrative.     And  it  appears  that  Bethel  was 

3ne  of  the  centres  of  Jeroboam's  calf-worship.  (This,  indeed,  has  been 

Df  late  years  disputed,  and  another  Bethel  is  proposed  as  Jeroboam's 

:ity.     But  the  old  identification  is  still  to  be  preferred)  'The  choice 

>f  Bethel  as  the  head-quarters  of  the  calf-worship,  the  seat  of  a 

;rand  temple  built  in  opposition  to  that  at  Jerusalem,  and  of  a  royal 

>alace,  had   at  once    flattered  and  enriched  the    inhabitants,  and 

lindled  their  fierce  and  interested  hatred  of  those,  who,  like  the 

>rophets,  denounced  the  royal  action.     The  citizens  had  become,  it 

rould  appear,  almost  the  counterparts  of  the  bigoted  Mahommedans  of 

lafed  or  Nablus,  who  at  this  day  insult  and  often  attack  any  Christian 

tranger   who   enters   their   limits,    even  the   children  cursing    the 

infidel "   as    he    passes.'       Compare   the   opposition    headed   by 

)emetrius,  at  Ephesus,  against  Paul.     We  are  to  understand  there- 

9—2 


132     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

fore,  that  these  '  boys '  did  but  violently  express  the  hatred  of  the 
townsfolk  at  Bethel  against  the  Jehovah  prophet ;  and  that  Elisha 
treated  them,  not  as  acting  in  mere  wilfulness,  but  as  expressing  the 
feeling  of  the  citizens,  whose  hatred  to  him  was  really  hatred  to 
Jehovah,  whose  name  he  bore. 

Some  see  in  their  cry  against  Elisha  a  reference  to  the  previous 
translation  of  Elijah,  but  this  is  not  likely.  Their  words  simply 
mean  what  we  express  by  '  Get  out,  you ;  get  out.'  Nor  need  we 
suppose  that  Elisha  was  really  bald.  He  only  contrasted  with 
Elijah,  who  was  a  characteristically  hairy  man.  Roberts^  who 
illustrates  the  Bible  so  skilfully  from  Hindoo  customs,  says,  *  I  was 
not  a  little  astonished  in  the  East,  when  I  first  heard  a  man  who  had 
a  large  quantity  of  hair  on  his  head  called  a  "  bald  head  " ;  and  I 
found,  upon  inquiry,  it  was  an  epithet  of  contempt.  A  man  who  has 
killed  himself  is  called  "  a  bald-headed  suicide  ";  and  a  stupid  fellow 
"a  bald-headed  dunce."  It  is  asked  concerning  those  who  are  power- 
less, "  What  can  these  bald  heads  do  ?  "  Call  a  man  a  mottiyan^  that 
is,  "  a  bald  head"  (though  he  may  have  much  hair),  and  then  abuse, 
sticks  or  stones  will  certainly  be  your  portion.  Thus  the  epithet 
implies  great  scorn,  and  is  given  to  those  who  are  weak  or  mean.' 

Kitto  brings  out  the  heinousness  of  the  sin  of  these  '  boys.' 
'  These  youths  were  not  accidently  encountered  :  they  did  not  happen 
to  be  at  their  sports  outside  the  town  where  the  prophet  passed,  but 
they  "  came  out  "  of  malice  prepense  "to  meet "  and  insult  him.  Such 
a  purpose  against  the  prophet  must  have  been  the  result  of  their 
ungodly  training  in  that  evil  place,  and  must  have  had  its  roots  in  the 
sneers  and  sarcasms  which  they  had  heard  all  their  lives  levelled  at 
the  name  and  acts  of  Elijah.  Him,  surrounded  as  he  was  with 
terrors,  they  would  not  have  dared  thus  to  insult  and  abuse ;  but 
from  his  comparatively  meek  and  gentle  successor,  whom  they  had 
never  hitherto  seen  in  any  position  of  authority,  they  thought  there 
was  nothing  to  apprehend,  so  that  they  could  with  impunity  pour 
forth  the  blackness  of  their  hearts  upon  him.  The  offence,  involving 
as  it  did  a  blasphemous  insult  cast  upon  one  of  the  Lord's  most 
signal  acts  (this  supposes  a  designed  reference  to  Elijah's  translation), 
made  a  near  approach  to  what  in  the  New  Testament  is  called  the 
sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost.' 

No  detailed  explanation  is  given  us  of  the  terms  of  Elisha's  curse. 
We  must  not  bring  our  modern  associations  with  cursing  and  swear- 
ing into  the  word.  Elisha  simply  invoked  the  Divine  judgment  on 
these  wild  and  blasphemous  and  contemptuous  youths.  As  if  he 


ELISHA'S  CURSES.  133 

had  said,  *  I  will  take  no  sort  of  vengeance  on  them  for  these  insults  : 
the  Lord  Himself  avenge  me.' 

It  is  a  needless  forcing  of  the  narrative  to  assume  that  the  she- 
bears  rushed  out  of  the  wood  as  soon  as  Elisha  had  spoken.  The 
simple  fact  appears  to  be  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Wady 
Suweinit  there  was  a  dense  forest,  the  haunt  of  savage  animals. 
About  this  time  two  she  bears,  bereft  of  their  young,  and,  as  usual  in 
such  cases,  terribly  wild,  destroyed  some  forty-two  of  the  town- 
children,  tearing  and  wounding,  if  not  actually  killing  them  all.  This 
calamity  was  associated  by  the  people  with  Elisha's  curse,  and 
regarded  as  its  fulfilment. 

As  a  sufficient  moral  reason  for  such  a  judgment  at  this  particular 
time,  it  may  be  urged,  that  if  *  an  insult  offered  to  Elisha,  now  just 
appointed  to  be  the  successor  and  representative  of  Elijah,  and  bear- 
ing his  prophetic  mantle,  as  the  chosen  prophet  of  the  Lord,  had 
passed  unnoticed,  the  idolaters  of  Bethel  might  have  been  hardened 
in  their  idolatry,  and  the  prophets  and  worshippers  of  the  Lord 
would  have  been  discouraged.' 

Judgment  on  Saul's  House. 

2  SAMUEL  xxi.  I  :  'And  there  was  a  famine  in  the  days  of  David  three  years, 
year  after  year  ;  and  David  sought  the  face  of  the  Lord.  And  the  Lord  s,aid,  It 
is  for  Saul,  and  for  his  bloody  house,  because  he  put  to  death  the  Gibeonites.' 

Question. — How  can  God  be  thus  represented  as  keeping  up  the 
memory  of  wrongs,  and  reserving  His  vengeance,  when  we,  who  are  to 
te  like  Him,  are  told  not  to  let  the  sun  go  down  upon  our  wrath  ? 

Answer. — There  are  few  incidents  recorded  in  the  historical 
Scriptures  so  seriously  perplexing  as  this  one,  and  so  difficult  to 
econcile  with  our  notions  of  the  Divine  Being.  Almost  all  that 
an  be  said  is,  that  the  idea  of  retribution  prevailed  in  ancient  times 
o  an  extent  which  we  cannot  realize,  and  was  the  common  idea  of 
he  working  of  Divine  justice.  Retributive  providences  were  ex- 
•ected  to  clear  away  the  guilt  of  blood,  as  the  Avenger,  or  Goe'l, 
leared  it  in  yet  earlier  times.  By  the  teachings  of  large  national 
nd  public  avengements  God  taught  that  *  murder  will  out,'  and 
lat  '  whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed.' 
'he  painful  and  dreadful  form  which  such  avengement  took,  we  can 
nly  say,  belonged  to  the  manners  of  the  time. 

Professor  Gardiner,  D.D.,  in  '  Ellicott's  Commentary,'  gives  the 
'earest  and  best  note  we  have  met  with.  *  Two  questions  are  often 
sked  in  connection  with  this  narrative  :  (i)  Why  the  punishment  of 


134     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Saul's  sin  should  have  been  so  long  delayed  ?  and  (2)  why  it  should 
at  last  have  fallen  upon  David  and  his  people,  who  had  no  share  in 
the  commission  of  the  sin  ?  The  answer  to  both  questions  is  in  the 
fact  that  Israel  both  sinned  and  was  punished  as  a  nation.  Saul 
slew  the  Gibeonites,  not  simply  as  the  son  of  Kish,  but  as  the  king 
of  Israel,  and  therefore  involved  all  Israel  with  him  in  the  violation 
of  the  national  oath ;  and  hence,  until  the  evil  should  be  put  away 
by  the  execution  of  the  immediate  offender  or  his  representatives,  all 
Israel  must  suffer.  The  lesson  of  the  continuity  of  the  nation's  life, 
and  of  its  continued  responsibility  from  age  to  age,  was  greatly 
enhanced  by  the  delay.  Besides  this,  there  were  so  many  other 
grievous  sins  for  which  Saul  was  to  be  punished,  that  it  was  hardly 
possible  to  bring  out,  during  his  lifetime,  the  special  Divine  dis- 
pleasure at  this  one.' 

Matthew  Henry  sententiously  says  :  '  Time  does  not  wear  out  the 
guilt  of  sin  ;  nor  can  we  build  hopes  of  impunity  upon  the  delay  of 
judgments.  There  is  no  statute  of  limitation  to  be  pleaded  against 
God's  demands.  God  may  punish  when  He  pleases.' 

We  must  carefully  distinguish  between  judicial  acts  done  in  the 
maintenance  of  public  authority,  and  private  feelings  of  resentment 
and  acts  of  vengeance.  God,  in  Israel,  is  not  an  individual  giving 
expression  to  a  sense  of  private  wrong,  but  a  King  giving  expression 
to  fitting  vindication  of  national  justice  and  righteousness;  and 
things  are  necessary  and  becoming  in  the  official  King,  which  would 
be  most  unworthy  in  the  private  individual. 

Jehoram's  Anger. 

2  KINGS  vi.  31  :  '  Then  he  said,  God  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if  the  head  of 
Elisha  the  son  of  Shaphat  shall  stand  on  him  this  day.' 

Question. —  Why  did  this  king  vent  his  anger  upon  the  prophet? 

Answer. — Because  he  confounded  the  *  agent '  with  the  'cause '; 
and  was  glad  to  shift  the  responsibility  for  the  national  distress  from 
off  his  own  shoulders.  Jehoram's  neglect  of  God,  and  encourage- 
ment of  idolatry,  were  the  real  causes  of  the  national  calamity, 
because  these  brought  upon  him  and  his  people  the  Divine  judgments. 
He  was  really  angry  with  God  for  punishing  him ;  and,  as  he  could 
not  reach  God,  he  proposed  to  spend  his  rage  on  God's  servant. 
Men  oftentimes  hide  their  anger  against  themselves  by  a  show  of 
anger  against  somebody  else ;  but  such  hidings  never  hide  the  truth 
from  God. 

So  far  as  the  Scripture  narrative  is  concerned,  we  have  no  intima- 


JEHORAM'S  ANGER.  135 

tion  that  Elisha  was,  in  any  prophetic  way,  connected  with  this  siege 
and  famine.  It  is  assumed  that  he  was  commissioned  to  announce 
it,  so  that  the  people  might  clearly  see  it  as  a  judgment  of  God,  and 
not  a  mere  calamity.  But,  possibly,  Jehoram  only  argued  that 
Elisha,  who  had  wrought  so  many  miracles,  could  have  given 
deliverance  in  this  case,  if  he  had  pleased.  This  is  suggested  by  the 
fretful  expression  used  by  the  king  (see  ver.  33),  '  What  should  I  wait 
for  the  Lord  any  longer  ?'  *  Jehoram  bursts  into  the  prophet's 
presence  with  a  justification  of  the  sentence  he  has  pronounced 
against  him.  "  Behold  this  evil — this  siege  with  all  its  horrors — is 
from  Jehovah — from  Jehovah  whose  prophet  thou  art  Why  should 
I  wait  for  Jehovah — temporize  with  Him — keep,  as  it  were,  on  terms 
with  Him  by  suffering  thee  to  live — any  longer  ?  What  hast  thou  tc 
say  in  arrest  of  judgment  ?" ' 

Jamieson  explains  the  incident  thus  :  *  The  horrid  recital  of  this 
domestic  tragedy  (ver.  29)  led  the  king  soon  after  to  rend  his  garment, 
in  consequence  of  which  it  was  discovered  that  he  wore  a  penitential 
shirt  of  hair  cloth.  It  is  more  than  doubtful,  however,  if  he  was 
truly  humbled  on  account  of  his  own  and  the  nation's  sin ;  otherwise 
he  would  not  have  vowed  vengeance  on  the  prophet's  life.  The  true 
explanation  seems  to  be  that  Elisha,  having  counselled  him  not  to 
surrender,  with  the  promise,  on  condition  of  deep  humiliation,  of 
being  delivered,  and  he  having  assumed  the  signs  of  contrition 
without  receiving  the  expected  relief,  regarded  Elisha,  who  had 
proved  false  and  faithless,  as  the  cause  of  all  the  protracted 
distress.' 

Wordsworth  is  very  severe  on  Jehoram.  *  Jehoram  had  sackcloth 
on  his  loins,  but  not  on  his  heart ;  he  mourned  indeed  for  the  famine, 
but  not  for  the  cause  of  it,  namely,  his  own  sins  and  the  sins  of  the 
people;  and  instead  of  being  penitent  towards  God,  he  is  furious 
against  God's  prophet.' 

The  Proverb  of  the  Sour  Grapes. 

EZEKIEL  xviii.  2  :  '  What  mean  ye,  that  ye  use  this  proverb  concerning  the  laud 
of  Israel,  saying,  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are 
set  on  edge  ?' 

Difficulty. — Has  the  law  of  heredity \  which  carries  disabilities  to 
children  from  parental  wrong- doing,  a  sufficient  moral  ptirpose  to  justify 
it? 

Explanation. — It  should  be  observed  that,  in  this  instance,  a 
false  use  is  made  of  the  doctrine  of  heredity.  It  is  offered  as  an 
explanation  of  suffering,  which  may  excuse  the  sufferers  from  any 


136      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

charge  of  personal  guilt.  The  carrying  of  disabilities  on  to  the 
children  is,  in  the  Divine  order,  arranged  to  make  public  impression 
of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  to  keep  constantly  before  men's  minds  the 
fact  of  the  solidarity  of  the  race,  on  which  the  social  order  is  based. 
This  is  the  moral  purpose  which  justifies  it ;  but  the  fact  and  truth 
are  used  for  immoral  purposes  when  they  are  made  to  relieve  the 
sense  of  personal  responsibility,  and  lead  men  to  lose  anxiety  con- 
cerning their  own  transgressions  by  charging  all  evil  on  the  *  father ' 
or  on  the  '  race.' 

The  circumstances  under  which  Ezekiel  urged  his  pleading  should 
be  understood.  *  The  situation  of  the  exiled  people  was  such  as  to 
call  for  and  suggest  such  instruction.  The  judgments,  in  the  approach 
of  which  they  had  long  refused  to  believe,  were  at  last  making  them- 
selves too  manifest  to  be  overlooked.  But  the  people  were  ready  to 
evade  the  lesson  which  they  should  have  learnt,  by  having  recourse 
to  the  heathen  principle  of  a  blind  fatality  of  retribution,  which 
offered  no  means  of  escape  either  to  the  nation  or  to  individuals,  and 
so  prevented  consciousness  of  guilt  and  of  responsibility.  They  had, 
indeed,  a  certain  apparent  ground  to  rest  upon  in  the  Second  Com- 
mandment, where  God  declares  that  He  "  will  visit  the  sins  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children ;"  but  it  was  only  apparent.  Here  God 
enunciates  that  which  He  declared  throughout  the  Law,  and  which 
had  been  illustrated  in  the  whole  history  of  the  people,  that  national 
sins  should  be  followed  by  national  judgment.  This  did  not,  in  fact, 
interfere  with  the  principle  that  each  individual  should  be  answerable 
for  his  own  conduct,  and  should  be  equitably  dealt  with,  any  more 
than  the  fact  that,  in  all  times,  temporal  consequences  of  the  acts  of 
a  nation  or  of  individuals  extend  beyond  themselves  and  their  own 
times.  The  state  of  exile  was  intended  to  develop  this  principle, 
and  so  the  prophet  of  the  captivity  was  led  to  anticipate  in  a  re- 
markable manner  the  sublimer  morality  of  the  Gospel.'  ('  Speaker's 
Commentary.') 

It  is  necessary  that  we  should  keep  in  mind  '  the  two-fold  relation, 
the  individual  and  the  federal,  in  which  each  man  stands  to  his 
Maker.  It  is  in  virtue  of  the  federal  relation  that,  on  the  one  1  .and, 
as  children  of  Adam,  we  are  all  born  into  the  world  with  ?,  pre- 
disposition to  sin,  and,  on  the  other,  are  all  partakers  of  the  benefits 
of  the  redemption  wrought  out  for  us  by  the  Second  Adam.  Under 
the  laws  of  nature  it  must  necessarily  come  about  that  the  children 
shall  suffer  or  enjoy  in  consequence  of  the  uprightness  or  the  sin  of 
their  fathers.  Yet  more  important,  and  prevailing  above  this  federal 
relation,  is  the  attitude  of  each  individual  towards  God.  f  y  this 


SCREENING  THE  FIRST  MURDERER.  137 

through  the  reconciliation  effected  by  the  redemption  of  Christ,  he 
is  brought  into  communion  with  God,  and,  becoming  one  with  Christ, 
is  viewed  and  treated  as  a  member  of  the  body  of  the  only  begotten 
Son.  This  does  not  hinder  that  the  laws  of  nature  shall  still  work 
out  their  natural  effects  :  we  still  must  be  subject  to  death,  because 
our  first  father  sinned  ;  but  it  does  bring  about  that  all  these  natural 
sufferings  are  transformed  into  higher  blessings.'*  (Dr.  F.  Gardiner.) 


Screening  the  First  Murderer. 

GENESIS  iv.  15  :  •  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Therefore  whosoever  slayeth 
Cain,  vengeance  shall  be  taken  on  him  sevenfold.  And  the  Lord  appointed  a 
sign  for  Cain,  lest  any  finding  him  should  smite  him  '  {Rev.  Ver.). 

Question. —  Why  was  not  the  foundation  law  of  human  society, 
'  Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed]  carried  out 
in  the  case  of  Cain  ? 

Answer. — The  law  of  murder  was  only  thus  distinctly  stated  as 
the  basis  law  of  society  as  it  was  started  afresh  after  the  cleansing 
Flood  ;  and  it  is  altogether  confusing  to  associate  it  with  the  condi- 
tions and  relations  of  the  first  human  family. 

The  point  which  we  require  to  see  clearly  is,  that  no  law  for  the 
punishment  of  a  crime  can  be  promulgated  until  the  crime  has  been 
committed.  Nobody  would  understand  what  the  crime  was  until 
it  had  been  wrought  by  some  one.  But,  then,  government  must  step 
in  to  deal  with  something  which  has  arisen  imperilling  the  social 
order.  The  first  criminal  creates  the  law  that  shall  deal  with  the 
particular  crime ;  but  the  first  criminal  may  fairly  urge  that  he  was 
unwarned,  and  so  ought  not  to  be  the  first  to  bear  the  penalty. 

We  act  precisely  on  this  principle  in  family  life.  There  is  no  house- 
aw  concerning  some  kind  of  fault,  because  no  member  of  the  family 
las  committed  it.  But  one  of  the  boys  does  the  wrong ;  and  at  once 
i  law  is  made,  with  appropriate  threat  of  punishment.  But  no  parent 
:ould  fairly  make  the  first  sinner  bear  the  penalty  which  he  fixed  only 
ifter  the  sin  was  committed.  It  may  be  necessary  to  inflict  some 
mnishment,  but  not  the  severe  one  which  was  henceforth  to  exert  a 
;raciously  deterrent  effect. 

This  should  be  applied  to  the  case  of  Cain.  He  knew  of  no  law 
>f  murder  that  demanded  blood  for  blood.  He  did  not  even  know 
,-hat  the  crime  of  murder  was.  As  soon  as  his  deed  was  done, 
onscience  awoke,  it  brought  fear;  fear  took  its  universal  form — 

*  Two  other  paragraphs  will  be  found  in  this  section  dealing  with  this  subject 
'om  otln.r  points  of  view. 


T38      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

dread  of  retaliation  :  '  As  I  have  done,  so  somebody  will  do  to  me.' 
God  then  established  the  law  of  murder,  by  accepting  Cain's  fear 
that  some  one  would  slay  him.  It  is  as  if  He  had  said  :  *  Yes ;  blood 
for  blood  shall  be  the  universal  murder-law.  But  since  you  were  un- 
warned, and  gave  the  first  example  of  the  crime,  you  shall  not  be 
also  first  example  of  the  penalty.'  Separation  from  society  was  the 
punishment  adapted  to  the  sins  of  envy  and  passion  into  which  Cain 
had  fallen ;  but  the  precise  penalty  of  murder  was  held  over  until 
the  next  case,  when,  if  a  man  killed  his  fellow,  he  could  only  do  so 
understanding  his  guilt,  threatened  with  punishment,  and  braving 
the  penalty. 

This  explanation  fairly  faces  a  difficulty  which  the  leading  Biblical 
writers  either  shirk  or  do  not  consider  of  importance.  Only  Lange 
even  states  it,  among  those  we  have  consulted ;  but  his  treatment  of 
it  seems  very  unsatisfactory.  He  says  :  '  We  may  ask,  Why  was  not 
the  punishment  of  death  imposed  on  Cain,  as  is  demanded  by  the 
later  law  (ch.  ix.  6),  instead  of  exile  ?  It  is  not  a  sufficient  answer  to 
say  that  the  parents  of  Cain  could  not  execute  such  a  sentence  ;  the 
cherubim  might  have  crushed  him.  But  it  becomes  evident,  already, 
that  the  religious  social  death  of  absolute  banishment  from  human 
society  constitutes  the  peculiar  essence  of  the  death-penalty.'  The 
unsatisfactoriness  of  such  an  explanation  is  shown  by  the  historical 
fact  that  Cain  was  not  shut  out  from  general  society,  but  was  the 
founder  of  the  chief  families  with  which  the  old  world  was  peopled, 
and  that  from  him  came  the  progenitors  of  the  world's  arts  and 
music. 

Natural  Warmth  for  the  Aged  Sick. 

I  KINGS  i.  2 :  '  Wherefore  his  servants  said  unto  him,  Let  there  be  sought  for 
my  lord  the  king  a  young  virgin.' 

Question. — Can  any  explanations  be  given  that  may  remove  tke 
sense  of  impropriety  which  is  given  us  by  this  suggestion  ? 

Answer. — The  suggestion  was  made  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
medical  ideas  of  those  times,  and  might  have  been  offered  by  the 
physician  of  the  court.  We  know  well  that  one  of  the  greatest  diffi- 
culties we  have  to  contend  with  in  nursing  old  people  is  deficiency 
of  circulation,  involving  coldness  of  the  extremities.  So  we  chafe  the 
hands,  and  put  hot-water  bottles  to  the  feet.  The  Easterns  used  the 
plan  of  laying  a  full-blooded  healthy  person  beside  the  aged  and  sick 
one,  so  that  the  natural  warmth  of  the  healthy  one  might  be  im- 
parted to  the  colder  one;  and  no  more  efficient  plan  could  be 


NATURAL   WARMTH  FOR  THE  AGED  SICK.     139 

devised,  though  our  feelings  make  difficulties  in  trying  this  method 
which  Eastern  people  would  not  realise. 

As  a  great  deal  has  been  made  of  this  incident  by  those  who 
desire  to  find  opportunities  for  attacking  the  morality  of  the  Bible, 
several  explanations  of  the  Eastern  custom,  with  good  authorities, 
may  be  presented. 

Gadsby  says  :  *  The  people  of  the  East,  who  have  beds,  always 
sleep  in  siparate  beds;  no  two  persons,  not  even  man  and  wife,  sleep- 
ing together.  I  used,  therefore,  to  wonder  what  Solomon  meant 
when  he  wrote,  "  If  two  lie  together,  there  is  heat ;  but  how  can  one 
be  warm  alone  ?"  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  referred  to  the 
custom,  which  was  generally  practised,  of  the  aged  and  infirm  having 
young  healthy  persons  with  them  in  bed  to  keep  them  warm,  and 
even,  as  they  suppose,  to  impart  vital  heat.' 

Josephus  tells  us  the  arrangement  was  made  by  the  advice  of  the 
physicians. 

A  writer  on  Eastern  customs  says  :  '  This  is  by  no  means  so  un- 
common a  thing  as  people  in  England  suppose.  Men  of  seventy 
years  and  upwards  often  take  a  young  virgin  for  the  same  purpose  as 
David,  and  no  other.  It  is  believed  to  be  exceedingly  healthful  for 
an  aged  person  thus  to  sleep.  In  the  hot  season  he  is  kept  cool, 
and  in  the  cold  season  warm,  by  sleeping  with  a  young  person :  his 
withered  body  derives  nourishment  from  the  other.  Thus,  decrepit 
men  may  be  seen  having  a  young  female  in  the  house  (to  whom, 
generally,  they  are  not  married),  and  to  whom  they  bequeath  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  their  property.' 

Jamieson  gives  a  very  full  and  precious  account  of  the  custom. 
*  In  modern  Palestine  and  in  Egypt,  the  people,  owing  to  the  heat  of 
the  climate,  sleep  each  in  a  separate  bed.  They  only  departed  from 
this  practice  for  medical  reasons.  The  expedient  recommended  by 
David's  physicians  is  the  regimen  prescribed  in  similar  cases  still  in 
the  East,  particularly  among  the  Arab  population,  not  simply  to  give 
heat,  but  "  to  cherish " ;  as  they  are  aware  that  the  inhalation  of 
young  breath  will  give  new  life  and  vigour  to  the  worn-out  frame. 
The  fact  of  the  health  of  the  young  and  healthier  person  being,  as  it 
were,  stolen  to  support  that  of  the  more  aged  and  sickly  is  well 
established  among  the  medical  faculty.  And  hence  the  prescription 
for  the  aged  king  was  made  in  a  hygeian  point  of  view  for  the  pro- 
longation of  his  valuable  life,  and  not  merely  for  the  comfort  to  be 
derived  from  the  natural  warmth  imparted  to  his  withered  frame.' 


HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Jehovah-Sacrifice  of  Heathen  Sailors. 

JONAH  i.  16 :  'Then  the  men  feared  the  Lord  exceedingly,  and  offeied  a  sacri- 
fice unto  the  Lord,  and  made  vows.' 

Question. — In  what  sense  could  idolaters  offer  sincere  sacrifice  to 
Jehovah  ;  and  could  such  sacrifice  be  accepted  ? 

Answer. — From  the  statement  made  in  verse  5,  we  gather  that 
the  crew  of  this  ship  was  made  up  of  men  of  various  nationalities,  as 
indeed  is  the  case  with  modern  crews.  It  is  a  peculiarity  of  idolatry 
that  the  forms  under  which  the  several  deities  are  conceived  and 
represented  are  special  to  particular  lands  and  nations;  and  the 
untutored  minds  regard  the  distinct  forms  as  separate  deities,  and 
worship  them  as  such.  There  seems,  however,  always  to  lie,  as  it 
were  at  the  back  of  thought,  the  notion  of  One  great  Spirit,  and  this 
leads  an  idolatrous  people  to  be  jealous  of  their  own  form  of  appre- 
hending and  presenting  Him,  but  at  the  same  time  tolerant  of  those 
in  other  lands,  who  worshipped  Him  under  other  and  different  forms. 
It  does  not  seem  that  idolaters  persecute  one  another.  Their  senti- 
ment seems  to  be  :  '  This  form  is  right  for  me,  and  that  form  may  be 
right  for  you.' 

These  sailors,  therefore,  would  suppose  Jonah  to  have  a  god,  even 
as  they  had.  He  was  the  god  of  the  land  of  Palestine,  and  it  was 
now  made  evident  to  them  that  his  power  extended  as  far  as  this  over 
the  sea  that  skirted  the  land.  We  need  not  suppose  them  to  have 
had  any  idea  of  the  supreme  claims  and  spiritual  nature  of  Jehovah, 
the  God  of  the  whole  earth ;  they  had  come  into  the  power  of  the 
*god  of  the  land  of  Palestine,  and,  doing  as  they  would  have  done  to 
any  other  national  god  whom  they  seemed  to  have  offended,  they 
offered  sacrifices  of  propitiation.  The  vows  they  made  were  such  as 
they  would  have  made  to  any  idol-god,  pledging  respect  for  the 
national  deity  if  they  should  ever  visit  the  land  again. 

To  assume  that  Jonah  preached  the  claims  of  Jehovah  to  these 
sailors  is  to  read  our  own  ideas  into  the  story,  and  to  forget  that 
Israel  had  at  this  time  no  call  to  missionary  service. 

As  to  the  Divine  acceptance  of  the  sailors'  sacrifice  and  vows,  we 
can  only  say  that  He  who  readeth  the  heart  asks  the  sacrifice  of  sin- 
cerity, and  is  really — though  all  men  do  not  know  Him  as  such — the 
God  of  the  whole  earth,  and  He  may  have  '  smelled  a  sweet  and 
acceptable  savour '  that  day.  He  who  did  accept  the  Ninevites  who 
1  repented '  in  their  own  way,  may  also  have  accepted  these  earnest 
sailors  who  *  sacrificed '  in  their  own  way. 


BATHSHEBAS  CHILD  FAVOURED.  141 


Bathsheba's  Child  Favoured. 

2  SAMUEL  xii.  24,  25  :  '  And  she  bare  a  son,  and  he  called  his  name  Solomon  : 
and  the  Lord  loved  him.  And  he  sent  by  the  hand  of  Nathan  the  prophet ;  and 
he  called  his  name  Jedidiah,  because  of  the  Lord.' 

Difficulty. — The  favour  shown  to  Solomon,  and  the  consequent 
setting  aside  of  the  other  children  of  David,  tends  to  lighten  our  estimate 
of  the  moral  fault  of  Bathsheba  and  David. 

Explanation. — In  the  instruction  of  humanity,  in  the  revelation 
of  God  to  man,  in  what  has  been  called  the  '  moral  education  of  the 
race,'  it  may  be  necessary  that  a  very  prominent  instance  should  be 
given  of  the  truth  that  God  fully  restores  when  He  freely  forgives. 

Exactly  this  man  finds  the  utmost  difficulty  in  realizing.  In  this 
man  is  no  measure  of  God,  for  man  finds  it  nearly  impossible  to 
restore  either  the  punished  or  the  forgiven  to  their  former  status.  We 
feel  the  surprise  and  the  offence  which  the  elder  brother  felt  when 
the  prodigal  was  both  forgiven  and  fully  restored  to  his  old  son-place 
and  brother-place  in  the  home.  We  know  how  to  punish  the  criminal ; 
we  even  know  how  to  forgive  him.  But  we  cannot  restore  him ;  we 
are  afraid  to  restore  him  ;  it  is  beyond  man  to  restore. 

But  restoration  becomes  the  supremely  important  thing  in  the  case 
of  a  pious  man  who  is  overcome  by  passion,  and  backslides.  We 
feel  at  once  that,  if  it  were  our  own  case,  punishment  could  not 
satisfy  us — forgiveness  even  would  not  satisfy  us ;  nothing  could 
satisfy  us  short  of  restoration  to  our  old  relations  and  privileges. 
We  should  pray,  just  as  David  did  on  this  very  occasion,  *  Restore 
unto  me  the  joy  of  Thy  salvation.' 

Restored  favour,  without  punishment,  penitence,  or  forgiveness, 
would  tend  to  lighten  our  estimate  of  evil.  But  such  restoration  God 
never  gives,  and  He  did  not  give  in  the  case  of  David  and  Bathsheba. 
Restored  favour  after  punishment,  penitence  and  forgiveness  at  once 
gives  a  deeper  sense  of  guilt  and  a  more  impressive  sense  of  God's 
mercy.  It  was  such  a  restoration  God  granted  in  the  case  of  David  ; 
and  the  acceptance  of  the  child  of  the  marriage  as  the  king's  heir 
was  a  most  gracious  sealing  of  the  restored  relations. 

As  to  setting  aside  the  other  sons  of  David  by  former  marriages, 
we  need  only  be  reminded  that  the  law  of  succession  by  the  eldest 
son  is  the  one  with  which  we  are  familiar ;  but  it  is  not  the  universal, 
it  is  even  questionable  whether  it  is  the  established,  law  in  the  East. 
Certainly  it  was  not  the  law  in  the  Hebrew  race.  Isaac  was  not 
eldest,  nor  was  Jacob,  nor  was  Moses,  nor  was  David  himself.  So 


1 42      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

far  as  we  can  trace  a  rule  in  the  matter,  the  dying  patriarch  or  king 
had  the  right  of  nomination  from  among  his  sons,  and  in  exercising 
this  right  he  was  assumed  to  have  special  Divine  direction  and  in- 
spiration. No  wrong  was  done  to  the  other  sons  by  a  Divinely 
guided  selection  of  a  particular  one. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  puts  the  point  of  the  above  explanation  into  a 
sentence  :  *  Solomon,  in  his  name  (peaceable),  was  a  record  of  the 
peace  which  God  had  restored  to  David's  conscience.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  says:  'Loathing  the  sin  he  had  committed,  he 
yearns  after  a  better  future,  in  which  it  will  be  seen  how  thoroughly 
he  has  forsaken  evil,  and  returned  to  a  pure,  just,  and  godly  spirit 
In  the  thirty-second  Psalm  the  heavens  begin  to  clear  :  he  has  con- 
fessed his  sin  and  forsaken  it,  and  has  found  mercy.  The  bow  on 
the  cloud  shone  out  fully  at  last  on  the  birth  of  a  second  son  of 
Bathsheba.  David  called  his  name  Solomon  ("the  peaceful"), 
perhaps  in  the  belief  that  the  gift  of  a  child  in  the  place  of  the  one 
that  had  died  was  a  pledge  of  the  fully  restored  favour  of  God.' 

Lion    Punishments. 

2  KINGS  xvii.  25  :  '  And  so  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  their  dwelling  there,  that 
they  feared  not  the  Lord  :  therefore  the  Lord  sent  lions  among  them,  which  killed 
some  of  them. 

Question. — Is  not  the  ordinary  increase  of  wild  animals  in  a 
depopulated  country  here  confounded  with  a  special  Divine  judgment  : 
and  does  not  the  confusion  indicate  superstition  rather  than  faith  ? 

Answer. — We  have  in  this  passage  the  pious  conclusion  of  the 
Jewish  writer  given  as  correcting  the  idolatrous  conclusion  of  the 
heathen  colonists.  It  is  in  fullest  harmony  with  the  Hebrew  belief 
in  the  unity  and  supremacy  of  Jehovah,  that  even  the  ordinary  in- 
cidents of  life  should  be  regarded  as  under  the  direct  Divine  over- 
rulings.  The  Hebrew  saw  God  everywhere,  and  working  in  every- 
thing. He  readily  passed  over  the  apparent,  but  really  secondary, 
causes  as  if  they  were  not  interesting  to  him,  and  let  his  mind  rest 
entirely  on  the  great  First  Cause.  From  our  modern  points  of  view 
we  call  the  Hebrew  'unscientific.'  But  that  conclusion  is  only  the 
result  of  a  prevailing  bias  of  a  particular  age,  and  the  Hebrew 
might  fairly  urge  against  us  that  we  are  limiting  our  vision  to  mere 
agencies,  and  blinding  our  eyes  to  the  real  cause. 

So  far  as  the  Scripture  is  a  revelation  of  God  to  man,  it  is  befitting 
that  everywhere  and  in  everything  God's  relations  and  God's  work- 
ings should  stand  out  prominently  before  us,  and  be  adequately 
impressed  upon  us. 


LION  PUNISHMENTS.  143 

The  colonists  regarded  the  increase  of  the  lions,  and  their  violence, 
and  daring  depredations,  as  an  indication  that  the  god  of  the  country 
was  offended  by  the  neglect  of  his  worship.     This  was  true ;  but  it 
was  the  truth  as  seen  by  their  imperfect  and  distorted  vision.     We 
call  their  view  *  superstitious/  but  the  writer  of  the  Book  of  Kings 
helps  us  to  understand  that  it   was  true  in  substance,    and  super- 
stitious only  in  form.       The  very  simple  and   natural  facts  of  the 
case   seem   to    have   been   that    some  time    elapsed    between  the 
carrying    away  of  the  people  of  Samaria  and  the  re-occupying  of 
the  district   by  the   Assyrian  colonists.     As  is  quite  usual  in  such 
cases,  the  lions  indigenous  to  the  country  had  multiplied  while  the 
district  was  uninhabited,  and  had  become  much  more  venturesome 
and  ravenous.     The  only  point  that  need  be  considered  as  supporting 
this  explanation  is  the  proof  we  have  of  the  existence  of  lions  in  the 
country.      In  earlier  times  we  find  many  Scriptural  references  to  this 
animal,  such  as  Judg.  xiv.   5  ;  i  Sam.    xvii.  34 ;  2  Sam.  xxiil  20 ; 
Prov.    xxii.    13;  xxvi.    13;   and    certain   allusions   made   by   Jere- 
miah (xlix.    19 ;  L   44),  suggest  that,   even   when  the   country  was 
well  populated,  lions  lurked  in  the  thick  jungle  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jordan. 

The  Lord's  Hate. 

MALACHI  i.  3  :  '  And  I  hated  Esau,  and  laid  his  mountains  and  his  heritage 
waste  for  the  dragons  of  the  wilderness.' 

Question. — In  what  senses,  and  under  what  limitations,  can  the 
word  '  hate '  be  properly  applied  to  the  feeling  and  action  of  the  Divine 
Being1}  , 

Answer. — The  general  answer,  which  should  suffice  to  explain 
all  the  anthropopathic  representations  of  God  in  the  Old  Testament, 
is  expressed  in  a  sentence  by  Professor  Henry  Rogers :  '  God  speaks 
to  the  heart  of  man  in  the  language  of  its  own  emotions.'  But  Dean 
Plumptre  notices  the  extreme  care  with  which  the  Scriptures  correct 
the  tendency  to  misuse  these  anthropopathic  representations  : — '  He 
is  patient,  long-suffering,  and  full  of  tender  mercies.  He  is  stirred 
to  wrath  and  jealousy.  He  repents  of  what  was  in  His  heart  He 
pleads  with  His  people,  makes  His  acts  dependent  on  their  prayers, 
smells  the  sweet  savour  of  their  sacrifice,  or  their  deeds  of  love,  and 
so  is  propitiated  and  appeased.  And  yet  here,  too,  there  is  the  same 
ever-recurring  protest  against  pushing  the  parable  too  far — against 
ascribing  to  God  any  human  feelings  but  those  which  are  consistent 
with  the  highest  human  excellence — against  thinking  wickedly  that 
He  is  even  such  an  one  as  ourselves.  "The  strength  of  Israel  is 


i44      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

not  a  man,  that  He  should  repent"  (i  Sam.  xv.  29);  "Are  not  My 
ways  equal,  are  not  your  ways  unequal  ?"  (Ezek.  xviii.  29) ;  "  Tojch- 
ing  the  Almighty,  we  cannot  find  Him  out"  (Job  xxxvii.  23).  Man 
is  taught  to  see  in  his  own  emotions,  when  they  are  at  their  noblest, 
that  through  which  he  may  learn  in  some  measure  to  find  God.' 

We  find  it  much  easier  to  realize  to  ourselves  a  weak  kind  of  good- 
ness than  a  strong  kind  of  goodness.  We  estimate  more  worthily 
the  gentleness  of  Christ  than  His  moral  strength.  And  because  of 
this  tendency  of  the  Christian  mind  to  unduly  glorify  the  passive 
virtues,  all  the  strong  qualities,  the  jealousies,  wraths,  hatings,  in- 
dignations, that  are  righteous  possessions  of  noble  natures  have  come 
to  be  treated  as  altogether  evil.  One  is  surprised,  and  even  shocked, 
to  hear  it  plainly  stated  that  the  good  man  ought  to  hate,  ought  to  be 
indignant,  ought  to  be  jealous ;  and  that,  therefore,  these  things,  so 
far  as  they  are  right  in  man,  as  related  to  his  fellow-man,  may 
properly  represent  high  and  noble  qualities  in  God  as  related  to 
man.  Yet  the  truth  of  this  becomes  quite  plain  as  we  fix  our 
thoughts  upon  it,  and  get  ourselves  free  from  the  entangling  of 
cherished  sentiment. 

This  explanation,  however,  though  answering  the  question  pro- 
posed, does  not  relieve  the  difficulty  of  the  expression  reported  by 
Malachi.  For  that  we  must  take  note  of  the  changed  meaning  of 
the  word  '  hate.'  Nowadays  it  means,  *  have  a  personal  aversion 
to  ;'  *  regard  with  ill- will.'  But  when  our  Bible  was  translated,  it  had 
a  simpler  and  kinder  meaning  :  '  love  less ;'  '  show  less  favour  to.' 
And  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  as  used  in  Malachi.  Moreover, 
the  subject  treated  of  is  not  the  Divine  feeling  towards  the  two 
persons,  Jacob  and  Esau,  but  the  providential  arrangements  for  the 
location  of  the  tribes  of  Jacob  and  Esau.  A  favourable  heritage  was 
the  lot  of  one  ;  an  unfavourable  and  trying  heritage  was  the  lot  of 
the  other.  In  a  very  similar  way  the  fertility  of  England  and 
Scotland  might  be  compared ;  and,  in  the  figurative  language  of 
poetry,  it  might  be  said,  *  England  has  God  loved,  and  Scotland  has 
He  hated'  or  Moved  less.'  We  should  not  misconceive  such  a 
statement  by  supposing  that  any  evil  feelings  towards  Scotland  (or 
towards  Edom)  were  indicated  by  the  expression. 

Sufficient  illustration  of  the  Scriptural  use  of  the  word  '  hate,'  as 
meaning,  '  love  second,'  '  love  after,'  and  not  as  meaning  '  dislike,' 
*  treat  with  aversion,'  may  be  found  in  Deut.  xxi.  1 5 ;  Prov- 
xiii.  24. 


FORMS  WITHOUT  MEANING. 


NEW  TESTAMENT. 


Forms  without  Meaning. 

MATTHEW  iii.  15  :'  But  Jesus  answering  said  unto  him,  Suffer  it  now  :  for  thus 
it  becometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness.' 

Difficulty. — There  appears  to  be  in  this  instance  the  example  of 
obeying  a  form  which  has,  for  the  person  concerned,  no  spiritual  mean- 
ing. 

Explanation. — All  religious  forms,  rites,  and  ceremonies  are 
arranged  for  bodies  of  people — not  for  individuals,  and  the  precision 
of  the  individual  relation  to  them  must  always  vary.  We  unite  with 
our  nation  in  a  public  day  of  humiliation,  but  some  of  us  do  not  even 
approve  of  such  days.  We  unite  with  our  Church  in  publicly  ac- 
knowledging ourselves  to  be  'miserable  sinners,'  but  some  of  us  cannot 
admit  that  such  terms  suitably  describe  us.  We  unite  with  the  Chris- 
:ian  world  in  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  some  of  us 
ire  not  at  all  sure  that  our  Lord  contemplated  the  founding  of  such 
in  ordinance.  But  in  none  of  these  cases  may  we  regard  the  differ- 
ng  ones  as  insincere.  There  can  be  no  common  expression  unless 
nen  are  willing  to  sink  their  personal  notions  and  feelings  in  order  to 
:omplete  the  unity  of  action.  It  is  in  the  very  nature  of  a  fixed  form 
hat  it  cannot  adjust  itself  to  varieties  of  feeling;  and  yet  masses  of 
)eople  can  only  express  themselves  through  fixed  forms. 

John's  baptism  was  a  national  matter.  It  was  the  rite  that  ex- 
messed  the  national  repentance,  and  the  national  entrance  into  a 
lew  life.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a  *  new  kingdom.'  We  are  not 
old  that  this  or  that  man  came  to  the  baptism,  but  this  and  that 
:lass,  soldiers,  common  people,  scribes,  Pharisees,  etc.  It  would 
lave  been  no  complete  representation  of  the  nation  if  the  pious  ones, 
hose  looking  for  the  Messiah,  had  held  aloof,  regarding  the  baptism 
»f  repentance  as  unsuitable  for  them.  Jesus  belonged  to,  and  stood 
Dr,  this  class  in  the  nation. 

In  previous  public  acts  of  national  penitence  the  good  and  the  bad 
•lended.  Joshua  had  not  personally  sinned  in  the  matter  of  Achan, 
>ut  he  put  himself  along  with  the  people  in  his  act  of  confession. 
)aniel  had  held  fast  his  integrity  throughout  his  life,  but  he  stands 
long  with  the  sinners,  and  speaks  for  them  before  God,  saying. 

10 


146      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

*We  have  sinned,  and  have  committed  iniquity,  and  have  done 
wickedly,  and  have  rebelled,  even  by  departing  from  Thy  precepts  and 
from  Thy  judgments.'  No  one  ever  thought  of  suspecting  Daniel  of 
insincerity  in  his  joining  in  a  repentance  which  did  not  apply  to  him- 
self; and  in  the  case  of  our  Lord's  baptism  we  have  the  same  thing, 
the  good  man  heartily  and  sincerely  sharing  in  a  national  and  public 
act,  which  did  not  strictly  apply  to  himself. 

Schenkel  regards  our  Lord's  submission  to  John's  baptism  as 
•vicarious.  This  is  not,  however,  just  the  point  we  have  been  pre- 
senting. It  was  simply  a  Jew's  duty  in  that  age,  and  our  Lord  saw 
no  reason  why  He  should  be  an  exception.  The  nation  was — with 
regret  for  its  past — to  step  on  to  its  new  era.  He  spoke,  through 
this  rite,  His  regrets  along  with  His  people. 

Lange  says  that  the  act  was  solidary  in  its  character — that  *  social 
righteousness  drew  Him  down  into  the  stream.'  In  this  direction 
lies  the  true  relief  of  our  difficulty,  and  the  adequate  explanation  of 
our  Lord's  action.  *  It  becometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness,'  may 
be  restated  thus — *  From  whatever  God  has  required  of  Israel  as  a 
duty,  I  cannot  withhold  myself.'  It  would  have  been  an  overdoing 
of  individuality  if  Christ  had  held  aloof  from  the  public  religious 
form  of  his  day ;  and  it  is  a  very  mistaken  and  mischievous  over- 
doing of  individuality  which  nowadays  leads  men  to  withdraw  them- 
selves from  common  religious  forms  and  rites,  on  mere  pleas  of 
intellectual  divergence. 

Biblical  writers  do  not  usually  discuss  the  point  of  difficulty  as  it 
is  stated  in  this  paragraph.  They  concern  themselves  with  the  ques- 
tion of  the  sinlessness  of  Christ,  which  is  not  brought  before  us  by 
the  Scripture  narrative. 

De  Pressense  in  part  supports  the  explanation  which  we  have  pre- 
sented. *  The  baptism  of  Christ  was  first  of  all  designed  solemnly  to 
inaugurate  His  ministry.  It  was  on  this  account  it  was  attended 
with  the  remarkable  circumstances  which  mark  its  importance.  To 
see  in  it  only  that  in  which  it  resembles  an  ordinary  baptism,  and  to 
pass  by  those  points  in  which  it  differs,  is  to  ignore  its  distinctive 
features,  and  to  be  untrue  to  historical  facts.  John,  the  representa- 
tive of  the  old  covenant,  is  commissioned  to  proclaim,  in  the  name  of 
the  prophets  and  holy  men  whose  legitimate  successor  he  is,  that  the 
new  covenant  has  begun,  and  the  promised  Messiah  is  come.  But 
this  kingdom  of  heaven,  which  is  about  to  be  set  up  on  the  earth,  will 
have  for  its  subjects  humble  and  sorrowful  souls  and  contrite  hearts. 
The  baptism  of  repentance  is  the  affecting  symbol  of  this  whole  dis- 
pensation. Is  it  not  fit  that  the  King  of  a  repentant  people  should 


FORMS  WITHOUT  MEANING.  147 

Himself  prepare  the  way  ?  Is  He  not  identified  with  the  race  that 
He  comes  to  represent  ?  He  who  is  to  die  for  it,  may  He  not  for  it 
repent,  and  bear  on  His  heart  the  burden  of  its  moral  miseries  ?  In 
the  Mosaic  institutions,  defilement  was  not  confined  to  the  defiled 
person ;  contact  with  such  an  one  rendered  purification  necessary. 
Here  we  have  not  simply  contact  with  a  fallen  race ;  there  is  the 
most  absolute  union  with  it  This  mystery  is  the  very  basis  of  re- 
demption, and  it  is  not  more  difficult  to  admit  it  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jordan  than  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  and  on  the  Cross.' 

To  this  may  be  added  the  suggestive  remarks  of  Rev.  J.  Stalker, 
M.A. :  *  The  baptism  itself  had  an  important  significance  for  Jesus. 
To  the  other  candidates  who  underwent  the  rite  it  had  a  double  mean- 
ing •;  it  signified  the  abandonment  of  their  old  sins,  and  their  entrance 
into  the  new  Messianic  era.  To  Jesus  it  could  not  have  the  former 
meaning,  except  in  so  far  as  He  may  have  identified  Himself  with 
His  nation,  and  taken  this  way  of  expressing  His  sense  of  its  need  of 
cleansing.  But  it  meant  that  He,  too,  was  now  entering  through 
this  door  into  the  new  epoch,  of  which  He  was  Himself  to  be  the 
Author.  It  expressed  his  sense  that  the  time  had  come  to  leave 
behind  the  employments  of  Nazareth,  and  devote  Himself  to  His 
peculiar  work.' 

Dean  Plumptre  has  the  following  sentence  :  '  It  was  meet  that  He 
should  fill  up  the  full  measure  of  righteousness  in  all  its  forms  by 
accepting  a  divine  ordinance,  even,  perhaps,  because  it  seemed  to 
place  Him  in  fellowship  with  sinners.' 

St.  Paul's  Depreciation  of  Marriage. 

I  CORINTHIANS  vii.  8  :  '  I  say  therefore  to  the  unmarried  and  widows,  It  is 
good  for  them  that  they  abide  even  as  I.' 

Difficulty. — How  can  this  apostle's  views  on  marriage  be  reconciled 
with  other  teachings  of  the  sacred  Word  ? 

Explanation. — Limitations    of    inspiration,   as  qualifying    the 

mthority  of  his  advice,  is  declared  by  the  apostle  himself.     So  far  as 

oundation  truths  and  first  principles  of  moral  duty — from  the  Chris- 

ian  standpoint — were  concerned,  St.  Paul  had  a  direct  and  sufficient 

>ersonal  inspiration,  giving  due  authority  to  his  teachings.     So  far  as 

ie  was  led,  in  response  to  the  inquiries  of  the  Churches  in  their 

•radical  difficulties,  to  attempt  an  adjustment  of  these  principles  to 

arious  details  of  Christian  conduct  and  relations,  under  passing 

onditions  of  society,  St  Paul  was  dependent  on  observation,  ex- 

erience,  knowledge,  and  good  judgment— even  as  other  men.     He 

10 — 2 


I48       HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

gave  his  advice — it  was  wise  advice  for  the  time  and  the  occasion ; 
and  it  is  of  permanent  value  to  us  as  illustrating  the  methods  in  which 
the  new  Christian  principles  may  appropriately  gain  their  practical 
applications. 

If  this  distinction  be  temperately  examined,  it  will  be  found  to 
exalt  our  idea  of  the  inspiration  of  the  apostles.  As  God  does  not 
reveal  matters  of  science,  which  man  can  find  out  by  the  use  of  his 
faculties,  so  He  does  not  inspire  counsels  on  details  of  Christian 
conduct,  which  renewed  men  ought  to  be  able  to  settle  for  themselves 
in  each  generation. 

No  advice  concerning  such  things  as  marriage,  slavery,  methods  of 
government,  or  relations  of  masters  and  servants  could  be  authorita- 
tively given,  as  applicable  to  every  nation  or  every  age.  We  have  in 
St.  Paul's  remarks  about  marriage  simply  his  own  personal  feelings 
as  a  man  separated  to  the  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  un- 
willing to  enter  into  any  such  responsibilities  as  would  fetter  his 
liberty  for  this  work.  He  gives  the  advice  of  an  enthusiast,  and  it  is 
advice  only  for  those  who  can  receive  it  He  himself  regards  it  as 
given  hopelessly,  for  he  well  knows  the  power  of  human  passion,  and 
the  workings  of  the  natural  laws  that  control  the  propagation  of  the 
4pecies.  Not  all  the  apostles  together  could,  if  they  would,  alter  the 
human  sentiment  concerning  marriage.  At  given  times,  and  for 
certain  persons,  marriage  may  be  wisely  avoided,  and  this  is  all 
that  St.  Paul  means  and  teaches. 

Dr.  Marcus  Dods  suggests  some  points  which  relieve  the  difficulty 
of  this  Pauline  advice.  'Paul  had  to  speak  about  marriage  as  he 
found  it — as  it  existed  amongst  those  to  whom  he  wished  to  be  of 
service.  Hence  he  makes  no  allusion  to  that  which  among  ourselves, 
is  the  main  argument  for,  or  at  least  the  common  motive  to,  marriage, 
viz.,  love.  Marriage  is  here  treated  from  a  lower  point  of  view  than 
it  would  have  been  had  this  letter  been  originally  written  for  English- 
men. In  the  marriages  of  the  Jews  and  Greeks,  love  had,  as  a  rule, 
little  or  nothing  to  do. 

*  And  not  only  had  Paul  to  speak  of  marriage  as  he  found  it,  but 
he  was  here  only  giving  answers  to  some  special  questions,  and  not 
discussing  the  whole  subject  in  all  its  bearings.  There  might  be 
other  points  which  to  his  mind  seemed  equally  important,  but  his. 
advice  not  having  been  asked  about  these,  he  passes  them  by.  His 
advice  proceeds  not  from  any  ascetic  tendency,  but  from  the  practical 
bias  of  his  mind.  He  had  no  idea  that  marriage  was  a  morally 
inferior  condition  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  saw  in  it  the  most  perfect 
symbol  of  the  union  of  Christ  and  the  Church.  But  he  thought  that 


CONDITIONS  OF  FINAL  JUDGMENT.  149 

unmarried  men  were  likely  to  be  most  available  for  the  work  of 
Christ,  and  therefore  he  could  not  but  wish  it  were  possible,  though 
he  knew  it  was  not  possible,  that  all  unmarried  men  should  remain 
unmarried/ 

Conditions  of  Final  Judgment. 

MATTHEW  xxv.  40 :    c  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  these  My 
brethren,  even  these  least,  ye  did  it  unto  Me.' — Rev.  Ver. 

Difficulty. — Can  the  one  matter  of  personal  charity  be  the  basis  on 
-which  every  man  is  to  be  judged  at  the  great  Assize  ? 

Explanation.— It  seems  probable  that  the  Christian  Church 
has  made  a  wider  and  more  general  application  of  our  Lord's  teaching 
in  this  connection  than  He  intended.  The  chapter  has  been  regarded 
as  containing  two  parables  and  a  descriptive  passage — the  two  parables 
of  the  Virgins  and  the  Talents,  and  the  description  of  the  scene  of 
the  day  of  judgment.  But  thoughtful  persons  readily  suggest  that 
the  circumstances  and  events  of  the  '  day  of  judgment '  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  expressed  in  detail  in  human  language ;  all  connected  with 
it  must  be  beyond  our  present  understanding,  and  can  only  be 
suggested  to  us  by  figures  of  speech.  Moreover,  it  is  not  in  the 
manner  of  Christ  to  attempt  any  descriptive  unveilings  of  the 
mystery  of  the  future  life.  It  would  surprise  us  if  Christ  could  be 
shown  to  have  indicated  either  the  state  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven, 
or  of  the  lost  in  hell,  or  the  precise  events  of  judgment,  because  it 
was  characteristic  of  Him  that  He  touched  these  great  themes  only 
with  the  suggestive  figures  of  poetic  language.  He  conveyed  general 
impressions  ;  He  unfolded  and  illustrated  great  principles  ;  but  con- 
cerning the  future  He  gave  no  bare  facts. 

A  closer  examination  of  this  chapter  brings  to  light  that  it  contains 
three  parables,  and  not  two ;  and  that  what  we  have  regarded  as 
a  descriptive  passage  is  really  a  parable,  with  its  imagery  taken  from 
the  supposed  scenes  of  the  after-life.  It  has  to  be  treated  on  the 
same  principles  as  the  other  parables,  and  the  painting  is  only  made 
for  the  sake  of  the  subject  painted.  We  must  not  dwell  in  an  exag- 
gerated way  on  the  details  of  the  picture,  but  seek  for  the  '  point  of 
impression,'  for  the  sake  of  which  the  picture  is  painted,  the  parable 
is  given. 

The  chapter,  along  with  the  previous  chapter,  forms  one  of  our 
Lord's  complete  discourses.  It  was  addressed  precisely  to  His 
disciples.  It  was  designed  to  prepare  them  for  the  commotions,  and 
contentions,  and  calamities  which  were  speedily  coming  upon  them, 


150      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

and  which  would  certainly  have  a  testing  power  upon  their  Christian 
profession.  Our  Lord,  in  His  application,  points  out  the  three 
things  in  Christian  life  concerning  which  they  should  be  supremely 
anxious,  and  warns  them  that,  under  temptation  and  pressure,  they 
may  fail  in  one  or  the  other  of  these.  If  they  are  to  stand  in  the 
testing  times  that  are  coming  they  must  (i)  keep  alive  their  personal 
piety ;  they  must  (2)  be  ever  faithful  to  the  trusts  committed  to  them  ; 
and  (3)  they  must  maintain  the  practical  service  of  brotherhood  and 
helpfulness.  The  first  is  evidently  the  point  of  impression  of  the 
parable  of  the  Ten  Virgins ;  the  second  is  the  point  of  impression  of 
the  parable  of  the  Talents  ;  and  the  third  is  the  point  of  impression 
of  the  parable  of  the  Judgment. 

We  do  not  therefore  find  in  the  passage  any  declaration  of  the 
absolute  condition  of  judgment  at  the  great  Assize,  but  the  effective 
illustration  of  the  truth  that  active  charity  is  one  of  the  essential 
features  of  Christian  life,  for  which  God  will  always  look  when  He 
comes  to  judge  and  appraise  a  man's  career.  Our  Lord  was  con- 
stantly teaching  that  a  Pharisaic  pride  and  satisfaction  in  pious  senti- 
ments was  utterly  suitable  in  His  disciples.  A  key-note  of  His 
teaching,  one  which  He  sets  forth  and  illustrates  in  this  parable,  was 
this — '  If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them.'  This 
parable  of  the  Judgment  is  a  pictorial  enforcement  of  the  duty  of 
practical  godliness.  It  only  need  be  added  that  comparatively  small 
and  insignificant  things  are  mentioned,  upon  the  well-established  prin- 
ciple that  *  a  straw  shows  how  the  wind  blows,'  and  small  things  are 
the  best  revealers  of  real  character. 

The  Commendation  of  the  Unjust   Judge. 

LUKE  xviii.  6  :  'And  the  Lord  said,  Hear  what  the  unjust  judge  saith.' 

Question. — Does  not  our  Lord's  approval  of  what  this  unjust 
judge  did  in  this  case  put  us  in  some  peril  of  approving  of  this  unjust 
man  ? 

Answer. — It  does,  if  we  assume  that  our  Lord  invented  this 
case  as  an  illustration ;  but  it  does  not  if  we  take  the  more  natural 
assumption  that  our  Lord  was  describing  a  case  which  had  actually 
occurred,  and  occurred  recently.  If  our  Lord  described  a  case,  we 
understand  that  He  would  describe  it  truthfully,  and  say  the  judge 
was  a  bad  man  when  he  was  bad.  Difficulty  has  been  made  by 
treating  as  a  *  parable '  what  was  an  actual  incident. 

If  we  use  facts  for  illustrative  purposes,  we  are  not  at  liberty  to 
alter  facts ;  nor  are  we  bound  to  more  of  the  fact  than  we  use  for 


THE  COMMENDATION  OF  THE  UNJUST  JUDGE.  151 

our  purposes  of  illustration.  We  can  illustrate  good  qualities  from 
bad  men,  and  so  could  our  Lord.  Nobody  misconceives  us  as  praising 
the  men's  general  badness  when  we  single  out  for  notice  some  act 
of  cleverness,  kindness,  and  wisdom.  And  so  we  should  never  force 
our  Lord's  words  to  mean  a  general  commendation  of  a  man  because 
he  did  a  right  thing  under  a  particular  pressure.  Our  Lord  would 
not  have  so  forcibly  described  the  badness  of  this  unjust  judge,  if  He 
wished  us  to  approve  of  him. 

Moreover,  the  judge  is  quite  a  secondary  person  in  the  narrative. 
Our  attention  is  fixed  on  the  'importunity'  of  the  poor  widow,  and 
this  alone  is  commended  to  us.  '  Lest  they  should  grow  slack,  He 
reminded  His  disciples  that  their  whole  frame  of  mind  should  be  one 
of  habitual  devotion,  that  they  might  not  become  faint-hearted,  and 
give  way  before  the  trials  they  might  have  to  suffer,  or  at  the  seeming 
delay  in  His  coming.' 

Dean  Plumptre  takes  quite  a  fresh  view  of  the  passage.  '  May  we 
not  think  that  here,  as  elsewhere,  there  is  an  intentional  assumption 
by  our  Lord  of  a  standpoint  which  was  not  His  own,  but  that  of 
those  whom  He  sought  to  teach.  Even  His  disciples  were  thinking 
of  God,  not  as  their  Father,  who  loved  them,  but  as  a  far-off  King, 
who  needed  to  be  roused  to  action.  They  called  on  Him  in  their 
afflictions  and  persecutions,  and  their  soul  fainted  within  them,  and 
they  became  weary  of  their  prayers.  Might  not  the  parable  be 
meant  (i)  to  teach  such  as  these  that  from  their  own  point  of  view 
their  wisdom  was  to  persevere  in  prayer,  and  (2)  to  lead  them  to 
reconsider  the  ground  from  which  they  had  started  ?  And  the  one 
result  would,  in  such  a  case,  lead  on  almost  necessarily  to  the  other. 
Prayer  has  a  marvellous  self-purifying  power,  and  the  imperfect 
thoughts  of  God  in  which  it  may  have  had  its  beginning  become 
clearer  as  it  continues.  It  is  one  of  the  ever-recurring  paradoxes  of 
the  spiritual  life,  that  when  we  are  most  importunate  we  feel  most 
strongly  how  little  importunity  is  needed.' 

Trench  says,  '  None  but  the  Son  of  God  Himself  might  have  ven- 
tured to  use  this  comparison.  It  had  been  overbold  on  the  lips 
of  any  other.  For,  as  in  the  parable  of  the  Friend  at  Midnight,  we 
were  startled  with  finding  God  compared  to  a  churlish  neighbour,  so 
here  with  finding  him  likened  to  an  unrighteous  judge.  Yet  we  must 
not  seek  therefore  to  extenuate — as  some  have  been  at  great  pains  to 
do,  and  by  many  forced  constructions — his  unrighteousness  ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  the  greater  we  conceive  that  to  have  been,  the  more 
encouragement  does  the  parable  contain,  the  stronger  the  argument 
for  persevering  prryer  becomes.  If  a  bad  man  will  yield  to  the  mere 


•  52      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

force  of  the  importunity  which  he  hates,  how  much  more  certainly 
will  a  righteous  God  be  prevailed  on  by  the  faithful  prayer  which  He 
icves.' 

The  Sin  of  Forethought. 

MATTHEW  vi.  25  :  '  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Take  no  thought  for  your  life, 
\A  hat  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink  ;  nor  yet  for  your  body,  what  ye  shall 
put  on.' 

Question. —  Wherein  lies  the  precise  distinction  between  the  duty 
cf forethought  and  the  sm  of  forethought  ? 

Answer. — The  confusion  of  two  quite  separate  things  is  caused 
by  the  one  word  being  used  with  two  distinct  meanings.  It  is  a 
duty  so  to  anticipate  the  future  as  to  prepare  ourselves  for  its  duties 
and  emergencies.  It  is  a  sin  to  worry  about  the  future,  as  if  He 
who  has  always  provided  would  not  be  sure  always  to  provide.  But 
the  force  of  our  Lord's  counsel  strictly  applies  to  His  disciples,  and 
not  to  everybody.  He  spoke  to  those  who  had  received  His 
revelation  of  the  Fatherhood  and  Fatherliness  of  God  :  to  those  in 
whom  He  had  striven  to  nourish  the  spirit  of  trustful  children. 
Children  in  homes,  overshadowed  by  good  fathers,  may  have  all  the 
joy  of  thinking  about  and  preparing  themselves  for  the  morrow ;  they 
may  sing,  as  Jean  Ingelow  makes  her  fourteen-years-old  girl — 

'  I  wait  for  my  story — the  birds  cannot  sing  it, 

Not  one,  as  he  sits  on  the  tree.; 
The  bells  cannot  ring  it,  but  long  years,  O  bring  it ! 
Such  as  I  wish  it  to  be.' 

But  it  would  be  most  dishonouring  to  their  father,  if  they  fretted,  and 
were  anxious  about  the  morrow,  as  if  he  would  fail  to  arrange,  pro- 
vide, and  keep.  Jesus  set  a  little  child  in  the  midst  of  anxious  dis- 
ciples, and  glorified  for  ever  child-trust  when  He  said,  '  Except  ye  be 
converted,  and  become  as  this  little  child,  ye  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.' 

When  the  earlier  versions  of  the  New  Testament  into  English  were 
made,  the  expression  '  to  take  thought '  signified  what  we  now  mean 
by  such  words  as  vexing,  worrying,  fretting,  being  anxious,  full  of 
care,  and  the  like.  This  is  its  meaning  in  our  translation.  But,  like 
many  other  words  and  phrases  which  have  fallen  out  of  common  use, 
1  taking  thought '  has  become  obsolete. 

Dr.  S.  Cox  says,  '  Forethought  is  no  more  forbidden  than  thought. 
A  wise  man,  a  man  with  "  discourse  of  reason,"  i.e.,  a  man  in  whom 
reason  is  not  dumb  and  inert,  must  "  look  before  and  after."  There 
would  be  no  unity  in  his  life,  no  continuous  development  and  activity, 


BLINDED  MINDS.  153 

no  linking  on  of  month  to  month,  and  year  to  year,  if  he  did  not 
look  forward  and  scheme  for  the  future  as  well  as  the  present.  What 
Christ  forbids  is  so  looking  onward  to  to-morrow  as  to  cloud  to-day ; 
so  anticipating  the  future  as  to  darken  the  present.  And  this  is  the 

very  point  at  which  we  commonly  fail It  is  our  needless  fears, 

our  groundless  anxieties,  which  undo  us.  Now  it  is  from  this  per- 
nicious habit  of  "  borrowing  trouble  from  the  future,"  as  though  we 
had  not  enough  of  it  in  the  present,  that  Christ  would  save  us. 
41  Trust  in  God  for  the  future,"  He  says  ;  "  do  your  duty  to-day,  and 
leave  to-morrow  with  Him.  And  let  this  trust  be  your  tranquil 
haven,  your  harbour  of  refuge,  whenever  the  waves  of  care  run 
high."' 

Blinded  Minds. 

2  CORINTHIANS  iii.  14 :  '  But  their  minds  were  hardened :  for  until  this  very 
day  at  the  reading  of  the  old  covenant  the  same  veil  remaineth  unlifted.  (Rev. 
Ver.)  (Compare  :  2  THESS.  ii.  II.) 

Difficulty. — If  men  are  stricken  with  incapacity  by  Divine  judg- 
ment, surely  their  personal  responsibility  must  be  taken  away  ? 

Explanation. — What  has  previously  been  said  in  relation  to  the 
hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart,  will  be  found  to  apply  to  this  case. 
A  condition  of  hardened  heart  is  a  condition  of  judgment.  It  has 
become  no  longer  a  question  of  the  man's  responsibility.  God  has 
taken  the  man  in  hand  ;  he  has  been  arrested,  tried,  sentenced,  and 
is  actually  undergoing  judgment ;  that  judgment  falling  on  his  mind 
and  will.  Properly  speaking,  the  question  of  personal  responsibility 
can  only  apply  to-  a  person  who  is  free  in  society ;  it  does  not  apply 
to  a  prisoner  undergoing  his  sentence,  and  shut  up  in  prison.  The 
only  point  which  it  may  be  difficult  to  admit  is  that  God  brings  His 
judgment  on  men,  and  on  races,  in  this  life.  We  have  too  readily 
shifted  all  the  Divine  judgments  into  the  world  to  come. 

In  the  time  of  St.  Paul,  the  Jews,  as  a  race,  were  under  Divine 
penalties,  and  one  form  of  penalty  was  a  judicial  blinding.  The 
Jews  now  still  lie  under  the  same  disabilities,  and,  so  far  as  the  race 
now  existing  is  concerned,  it  is  not  responsible  for  its  rejection  of 
Christ.  Its  state  of  antagonism  to  Christ  is  its  race-judgment :  it  is 
judicially  deprived  of  all  those  privileges  and  blessings  which  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  as  Messiah  involves. 

But  we  must  distinguish  between  the  responsibility  of  a  race  and 
the  responsibility  of  the  individual  to  whom  the  claims  of  Christ  may 
be  directly  presented.  His  race-disability  becomes  to  him  personally 


154      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

only  one  of  the  arguments  on  one  side  of  the  question  which  he  has 
to  decide.  A  man's  private  and  personal  responsibility  cannot  be 
lost,  even  when  the  responsibility  of  the  nation  or  race  to  which  he 
belongs  has  passed  into  judgment. 

If  this  distinction  should  seem  somewhat  subtle,  we  ask  for  it  a 
careful  and  candid  consideration,  as  we  feel  that  it  provides  the  key 
to  some  of  our  most  perplexing  moral  problems.  Perhaps  no  subject 
submitted  to  human  consideration  is  more  difficult  to  treat  fairly,  to 
unwrap  from  its  complications,  and  to  judge  in  its  true  bearings,  than 
that  of  the  relations  of  race-pecularities,  race  bias  and  prejudice,  to 
individual  responsibility.  We  cannot  escape  from  the  influences  of 
heredity  for  good  and  for  evil;  we  cannot  excuse  our  personal 
decisions  by  an  appeal  to  hereditary  disabilities :  and  in  the  case 
of  the  blinded  Jews,  we  may  see  simply  an  intense  case  of  heredity, 
which  is,  in  reality,  a  case  of  race-judgment. 

Tests  of  Sincerity. 

MATTHEW  xix.  21  :  'Jesus  said  unto  him,  If  thou  wouldst  be  perfect,  go,  sell 
that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven  ;  and 
come,  follow  me.' 

Difficulty. — Our  Lord  appears  to  have  put  this  young  ruler  to  an 
unreasonable  strain  ;  and  all  tests  of  sincerity  must  be  adapted  to  the 
person  tested. 

Explanation. — A.  L.  R.  Foote,  of  Brechin,  in  a  very  sympathetic 
consideration  of  this  incident  from  the  side  of  the  young  ruler,  effi- 
ciently meets  the  difficulty.  '  We  sometimes  hear  it  said  that  the 
sacrifice  demanded  of  him  was  great,  unfair,  unreasonable — as  com- 
pared, at  any  rate,  with  others.  Natural  sympathy  is  keenly  awakened 
in  his  behalf;  and  we  ask,  How  should  we  like  to  have  the  same 
sacrifice  demanded  of  us  ?  And  certainly,  upon  the  mercantile  theory 
of  salvation — upon  the  principle  of  bargaining  with  God,  and  pur- 
chasing eternal  life  with  our  own  labours  or  our  own  liberality — such 
a  sacrifice,  if  made  at  all,  would  be  made  with  a  grudge.  But  upon 
the  other  principle,  that  eternal  life  is  the  free  gift  of  God  through 
Christ,  without  any  merit  on  our  part — on  this  principle  there  is  no 
surrender  which  the  awakened  soul  will  not  willingly  make  in  order 
to  obtain  an  interest  in  the  Saviour.  It  was  not  his  riches  that  stood 
in  the  way  of  an  entire  surrender  of  himself  to  Christ,  but  his  love  of 
them.  And  it  was  this  that  made  the  sacrifice  of  them  so  painful  to 
him.  Had  he  been  keeping  his  wealth  in  its  own  place — not  idolizing 
it,  not  setting  his  heart  upon  it — he  would  have  been  able  to  part 


TESTS  OF  SINCERITY.  155 

with  it  without  a  pang ;  in  fact,  it  is  more  than  doubtful  if  the  actual 
surrender  would  have  been  required  of  him  at  all. 

*  We  are  not  to  suppose  that,  when  our  Saviour  said,  "  Yet  one 
thing  thou  lackest,"  He  meant  to  intimate  that  this  was  the  only  thing 
wanting  to  constitute  that  perfect  legal  righteousness  on  the  footing 
of  which  he  might  merit  the  high  reward  of  eternal  life ;  this  would 
have  been  encouraging  him  in  his  delusions.  In  order  to  understand 
such  language,  we  must  look  at  it  from  the  side  of  the  rule:1.  Here, 
the  Saviour  is  again,  as  appears  to  us,  taking  him  up  very  much  on 
his  own  ground.  The  case  is  put,  you  will  observe,  hypothetically, 
as  before — "  If  thou  wouldst  be  perfect."  It  is  as  if  He  had  said, 
"Thou  aimest  at  perfection,  and  on  the  footing  of  this  thou  art 
looking  for  eternal  life ;  thou  indulgest  the  dream  of  human  perfecti- 
bility. Well,  I  will  put  thee  here  to  the  test :  sell  all  that  thou  hast, 
and  give  to  the  poor.  What  !  dost  thou  hesitate  ?  What,  then,  be- 
comes of  thy  favourite  doctrine  of  perfectionism  ?  Ah  !  thy  fond 
idol  is  dashed  to  pieces,  and  by  thine  own  hand,  too ;  and  wilt  thou 
still  indulge  in  such  a  golden  dream  ?  Is  this  all  the  length  thy 
doctrine  of  human  perfectibility  can  carry  thee  ?"  If — an  important 
qualification  this— if  thou  wouldst  be  perfect !  Who  can  fail  to  see 
a  delicate  yet  severe  irony  here  ?  The  Saviour  is  not  teaching  the 
doctrine  of  perfection  in  any  sense  here,  but  is  trying  to  wean  him 
from  a  theory  which  was  deeply  rooted  in  his  mind,  and  which  was 
exercising  so  prejudicial  an  influence  over  him.' 

Regarded  in  this  way,  the  strain  put  on  this  young  ruler  was  not 
unreasonable.  The  demand  made  was  designed  to  break  down  the 
wall  in  which  he  was  encasing  himself,  and,  strong  as  it  was,  it  did 
not  prove  strong  enough  to  secure  the  end  desired.  His  case  re- 
quired such  a  sifting,  severe,  trying  method. 

Farrar  reads  the  character  of  the  young  ruler  somewhat  differently. 
*  Jesus  gave  him  one  short  crucial  test  of  his  real  condition.  He  was 
not  content  with  the  commonplace ;  he  aspired  after  the  heroical,  or 
rather  thought  that  he  did ;  therefore  Jesus  gave  him  an  heroic  act 
to  do.1 

Dr.  C.  Geikic  says  :  '  The  demand,  great  though  it  seems,  was 
exactly  suited  to  the  particular  case.  It  was  a  special  test  in  a  special 
instance,  though  underneath  it  lay  the  unconditional  self-sacrifice  and 
self-surrender  for  Christ  required  from  all  His  disciples.  It  could 
not  fail  to  bring  the  young  man  to  a  clearer  self-knowledge,  and  thus 
to  a  wholly  new  conception  of  what  true  religion  demanded.  The 
only  way  to  lead  him  to  a  healthier  moral  state  was  to  humble  him 
by  a  disclosure  of  weakness  hitherto  unsuspected.  He  had  fancied 


156      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

himself  willing  to  do  whatever  could  be  required ;  he  could  now  see 
if  he  really  were  so.  He  had  thought  he  cared  for  nothing  in  com- 
parison with  gaining  heaven;  he  could  now  judge  for  himself  if  he 
had  not  erred.' 

Dean  Plumptre  skilfully  relieves  the  apparent  unreasonableness  of 
our  Lord's  demand.  *  It  would  be  altogether  a  mistake  to  see  in  this 
either  an  obligation  binding  on  all  seekers  after  eternal  life,  or  even 
what  has  been  called  "  a  counsel  of  perfection  " — a  precept  laying 
down  an  indispensable  condition  for  all  who  aim  at  its  higher  forms 
and  powers.  It  was  strictly  a  remedy  for  the  special  evil  which 
hindered  the  young  ruler's  progress  to  perfection,  applicable  to  others 
so  far  only  as  their  cases  are  analogous.  It  would  be  idle  to  deny 
that  there  have  been  and  are  many  such  analogous  types  of  character ; 
and  so  far  as  anyone  is  conscious  of  being  under  the  power  of  wealth 
and  its  temptations,  so  far  there  is  a  call  to  some  act  asserting  his 
victory  over  those  temptations,  in  the  spirit,  if  not  in  the  letter,  of  the 
command  thus  given.  But  it  is,  we  must  remember,  the  spirit,  and 
not  the  letter,  which  is  binding.' 

Divisions  caused  by  Christ. 

LUKE  xii.  51  :  '  Suppose  ye  that  I  am  come  to  give  peace  on  the  earth  ?    I  tell 
you,  nay  ;  but  rather  division.'     (Compare  Matt,  x.  34,  35.) 

Difficulty. — If  Christ  is  the  cause  of  division,  the  responsibility  of 
it  must  surely  rest  with  Him,  and  not  with  us. 

Explanation. — It  was  a  characteristic  feature  of  our  Lord's 
teaching  that  He  used  'paradoxes'  for  the  purpose  of  awakening 
thought.  Great  thought-leaders  and  teachers  of  new  truth  usually 
recognise  the  value  of  '  paradox '  as  an  element  of  popular  instruction. 
By  it  we  understand  a  sentiment  or  proposition  seemingly  absurd  or 
contradictory,  yet  true  in  fact,  or  at  least  suggesting  the  truth.  It 
may  sometimes  be  the  over-presentation  of  one  side  of  truth,  for  the 
very  sake  of  starting  criticism,  and  suggesting  some  other  and  neg- 
lected side.  Something  of  this  kind  we  find  in  this  passage.  Our 
Lord  states  a  bold  and  striking  fact :  division  and  contention  follow 
on  His  coming:  and  He  sets  us  thinking  about  the  connection 
between  these  two  things. 

It  will  be  found  that  we  are  accustomed  to  use  the  word  *  cause ' 
very  inexactly.  The  philosophical  meaning  of  the  term  is  not  the 
popular  meaning,  and  there  are  several  differing  senses  in  which  a 
person  or  an  action  can  be  spoken  of  as  a  cause.  When  one  event 
follows  another,  we  very  readily  say  that  the  earlier  is  the  cause  of 


DIVISIONS  CAUSED  BY  CHRIST.  157 

the  later,  when  it  may  be  nothing  more  than  the  antecedent,  or  one 
link  in  a  chain  of  causes.  The  result  which  follows  our  conduct  may 
be  quite  other  than  we  desired,  and  in  such  cases  we  are  the  mere 
'occasion' — we  are  not  the  'willing  cause.'  So  in  the  case  of  our 
Lord,  divisions,  family  and  social  contentions,  were  the  actual,  the 
historical  results  of  Christ's  coming;  but  these  were  not  the  ends 
which  Christ  set  before  Himself — these  were  not  the  results  which 
He  desired.  He  was  accidental  cause,  not  willing  cause,  of  such 
things.  He  wills  '  peace '  for  man  ;  but  His  .will  works  in  a  disordered 
world,  and  against  man's  will  for  himself,  and  the  result  is  conflict. 
What  a  man  does,  and  what  a  man  aims  to  do,  are  often  quite  dif- 
ferent things  \  but  in  common  and  popular  language  a  man  is  fairly 
said  to  be  the  cause  of  what  actually  results  from  his  action. 

It  bears  precise  relation  to  the  case  of  our  Lord  if  we  point  out 
that  the  divisions  followed  upon  the  fact  that  His  manifestation  of 
Himself  in  the  world  differed  so  materially  from  the  expectations  of 
Messiah  which  the  Jews  almost  universally  entertained.  They  looked 
for  a  nobler  Judas  Maccabaeus ;  Christ  came  as  a  '  man  of  sorrows 
and  acquainted  with  grief/  They  wanted  a  leader  who  should  break 
off  from  their  nation  the  Roman  yoke.  Christ  came  as  One  who 
'bore  their  infirmities,'  healed  their  diseases,  and  forgave  their  sins. 
The  difference  was  so  great  that  it  inevitably  led  to  diversity  of 
opinion  about  Him,  and  heated  dispute  concerning  Him. 

'  The  internal  connection  of  the  passage  seems  to  be  something 
ike  this.  The  imminent  future  is  very  critical.  The  object  of  Christ's 
:oming  was  to  awaken  in  men's  minds  a  spiritual  excitement  which 
arould  disturb  and  divide  the  world,  producing  not  peace,  but  a  sword, 
>o  much  so  that  He  Himself  would  suffer  in  the  course  of  the  conflict 
vhich  His  own  teaching  had  aroused.' — Speaker's  Commentary. 

Renan  says  that  '  everything  fertile  (in  results)  is  rich  in  wars.'  And 
ound  by  and  through  the  very  contentions  which  Christ's  coming 
nouses  His  kingdom  of  righteousness  and  peace  comes  on. 

The  Permanence  of  Evil. 

REVELATION  xxii.  n  :  'He  that  is  unrighteous,  let  him  do  unrighteousness 
till;  and  he  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  made  filthy  still ;  and  he  that  is  righteous, 
:t  him  do  righteousness  still ;  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  made  holy  still.* 
Rev.  Ver.} 

Question. — Can  it  be  argued  from  this  passage  that^  after  the 
estitution  of  all  things,  evil  will  still  remain  ? 

Answer. — It  cannot  be  assured  that  the  subject  dealt  with  in 
lis  chapter  is  the  *  final  restitution  of  all  things.'  It  may  even  be 


158     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

fairly  disputed  whether  the  Book  of  Revelation  is  in  any  sense  his- 
torical. It  is  so  manifestly  a  teaching  by  symbols  and  prophetic 
figures,  that  we  do  not  wisely  associate  with  it  a  chronological  order. 
Its  scenes  may  be  synchronous  in  many  cases,  descriptive  of  what 
occurs  in  different  parts  of  the  earth.  It  may  even  not  be  descriptive 
at  all,  but  suggestive  of  moral  and  immoral  forces  and  of  varying 
Divine  judgments.  Without  attempting  to  explain  what  the  Book  of 
Revelation  is  (though  we  may  deal  with  it  in  a  subsequent  section 
of  this  work),  we  may  with  confidence  affirm  that  the  meanings  of  it 
are  too  uncertain  for  us  to  build  perplexing  doctrines  upon  it.  And 
certainly,  to  conclude  that  evil  will  continue  after  the  final  issues  of 
the  great  redemption  are  reached,  and  to  base  that  conclusion  on 
the  passage  now  before  us,  would  be  wholly  unwarranted. 

Apart  from  preconceived  and  biasing  notions,  the  reference  of 
the  passage  would  seem  to  be  a  very  simple  one.  John  is  bidden 
not  to  *  seal  up  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book,'  because 
the  time  of  closing  up,  though  at  hand,  is  not  come ;  and  until  it 
does  come,  preaching  and  prophecy  must  be  agencies  working 
amongst  men.  The  evil  will  be  going  on  in  their  evil,  and  need 
warnings ;  the  good  will  be  growing  better  through  much  struggle, 
and  so  will  need  much  encouragement.  The  very  point  is  that  there 
is  no  fixity  yet,  and  so  for  everyone  there  is  hope.  The  passage  is 
really  an  echo  of  the  parable  of  the  Tares.  '  Let  both  grow  together 
until  the  harvest/  even  if  it  should  seem  to  you  that  the  harvest  is 
close  at  hand.  The  verse  before  us  is  rather  a  statement  of  fact  than 
a  direction  of  conduct,  or  a  prophecy  of  the  future ;  and  this  is  indi- 
cated by  the  correction  of  the  Revised  Version. 

The  results  of  the  preached  Gospel  are  always  sucn  as  described 
here :  '  to  some  it  is  a  savour  of  life  unto  life,  to  others  of  death  unto 
death  ;'  but  we  must  go  on  preaching  it,  even  if  the  apparent  issue  be 
a  confirming  men  in  sin. 

Bishop  Boyd  Carpenter  takes  a  somewhat  different  view.  *  What 
does  the  verse  mean  ?  Does  it  mean  that  the  time  is  so  short  that  it 
is  hardly  sufficient  to  allow  of  men  reforming  themselves  so  as  to  be 
ready  for  their  Lord,  and  that  therefore  the  lesson  is,  Let  those  who 
would  be  ready  for  Him  remember  that  now  is  the  day  of  salvation  ? 
This  is  the  view  adopted  by  some ;  it  contains  a  truth,  but  the 
meaning  of  the  verse  seems  more  general.  Is  it  not  the  declaration 
of  the  ever-terrible  truth,  that  men  are  building  up  their  destiny  by 
the  actions  and  habits  of  their  lives  ?  "  Sow  an  act — reap  a  habit ; 
sow  a  habit — reap  a  character;  sow  a  character — reap  a  destiny." 
The  righteous  become  righteous;  the  godly  become  godly.  So, 


TEACHINGS  BY  DESTRUCTION  OF  PROPERTY.  159 

slowly  but  surely,  may  the  power  of  being  masters  of  our  fate  pass  out 
of  our  hands.  It  is  in  this  law  of  our  nature  that  the  key  to  many  of 
the  darkest  problems  of  the  future  may  lie  ;  and  not  without  a  solemn 
declaration  of  this  law  does  the  Book  of  Revelation  close.' 

Teachings  through  Destruction  of  Property. 

MATTHEW  viii.  31,  32  :  *  And  the  devils  besought  Him,  saying,  If  thou  cast  us 
out,  send  us  away  into  the  herd  of  swine.  And  He  saith  unto  them,  Go.  And 
they  came  out,  and  went  into  the  swine  :  and  behold,  the  whole  herd  rushed 
down  the  steep  into  the  sea,  and  perished  in  the  waters.' 

Question. — How  can  an  incident  which  seems  so  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  Christ  be  explained  ? 

Answer. — Several  points  must  be  made  clear  before  we  can 
offer  the  explanation  which  seems  to  us  most  satisfactory,  i.  We 
must  recognise  that  our  Lord  was  justified  in  teaching  through 
events  and  symbolic  actions.  2.  We  must  distinguish  between  the 
cause  of  an  event,  and  the  immediate  occasion  of  an  event.  3.  We 
should  try  to  understand  the  human  limitations  under  which  the 
Divine  Son  was  pleased  to  set  Himself,  so  that,  as  a  man,  His  con- 
duct was  not  guided  by  omniscience  of  result.  (There  is  no  point 
in  relation  to  our  Lord  which  we  find  it  more  difficult  to  get  appre- 
hended than  the  voluntary  mental  limitations  to  which  He  submitted 
in  order  to  become  true  man,  verily  one  of  us.)  4.  We  should  know 
the  common  sentiment  of  the  times  concerning  swine,  which  were 
the  types  of  sensuality,  as  the  fox  is  for  us  the  type  of  cunning.  On 
this  the  following  evidence,  partly  taken  from  Kalisch^  may  be  given  : 
*  Swine  are  always  spoken  of  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  with 
horror  and  disgust ;  partly  on  account  of  their  dirty  habits,  the  sup- 
posed unwholesomeness  of  their  flesh,  their  occasional  carnivorous 
ferocity,  and,  above  all,  their  association  with  many  forms  of  pagan- 
ism. The  unclean  habits  of  the  swine  struck  the  Hebrews  so  strongly 
that  they  gave  rise  to  the  saying,  "  The  snout  of  the  pig  resembles 
ambulant  dirt."  A  man  wallowing  in  the  last  and  most  disgusting 
stage  of  drunkenness  was  compared  with  the  swine.' 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  this  feeling  was  not  peculiar  to  the 
Jews.  '  The  Egyptians  regarded  the  pig  as  hateful  to  sun  and  moon. 
They  deemed  it  so  singularly  contaminating  by  its  uncleanness,  un- 
holiness,  and  all-devouring  voracity,  unsparing  even  of  its  own  young, 
and  of  men,  that  any  person  who  had  accidentally  touched  a  pig  was 
obliged  instantly  to  plunge  into  the  water,  dressed  as  he  was.  Swine- 
herds, detested  and  disgraced,  though  of  pure  Egyptian  blood,  were 
forbidden  to  enter  any  of  the  national  temples,  or  to  intermarry  with 


160      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

any  other  class  or  caste;  and  the  Egyptian  priests,  and  all  those 
initiated  in  the  mysteries,  rigidly  abstained  from  pork  except  on  oce 
solitary  occasion.' 

5.  We  require  to  have  some  general  idea  concerning  the  so-called 
*  devil-possessions '  of  the  time  of  our  Lord  ;  and  especially  do  we 
need  to  consider  carefully  one  view  taken  of  them,  which  regards 
them  as  cases  of  bodily  passion,  indulged  until,  gaining  strength,  the 
passion  subdues  the  will,  and  utterly  degrades  the  man  by  its  ruling. 
Illustration  can  be  taken  from  the  passion  of  drink,  but  the  view  can 
be  applied  to  all  other  kinds  of  bodily  indulgence  and  passion.  A 
man  yields  again  and  again  to  the  desire  for  drink :  every  time  the 
resistance  of  his  will  becomes  feebler,  until  at  length  the  drink-demon 
rules,  and  his  triumph  is  the  terrible  mania  which  we  know  as 
'  delirium  tremens.' 

An  incident  which  occurred  some  years  ago  at  Aldershot  was  very 
suggestive  in  relation  to  the  wild  rushing  of  these  swine  in  the 
Gospel  narrative.  Under  a  terrible  impulse  of  sexual  excitement  the 
cavalry  horses  broke  loose,  stamped  about  the  camp,  then  dashed  off 
into  the  country,  leaping  and  tearing  until  many  were  killed  and 
others  seriously  injured.  Had  those  horses  been  on  the  slope  of  a 
sea  they  would  have  gone  into  the  water  just  as  these  swine  did. 

We  can  now  look  at  the  entire  incident.  The  point  from  which 
our  explanation  starts  is  that  this  poor  man  was  suffering  from  a 
mania  of  sensuality,  similar  to  'delirium  tremens'  as  a  mania  of 
drink.  This  is  very  clearly  and  forcibly  presented  in  the  narrative 
as  given  by  Mark  (ch.  v.  1-8).  The  man  had  an  *  unclean  spirit.' 
He  went  about  naked.  (Luke  says,  '  For  a  long  time  he  had  worn 
no  clothes,'  ch.  viii.  27.)  He  was  rude  in  his  ways,  and  positively 
dangerous  to  females  and  unpleasant  to  everybody.  Recognising 
this  as  his  peculiarity,  our  Lord  said,  '  Come  forth,  thou  unclean 
spirit,  out  of  the  man.'  The  swine  were  the  animal  symbol  of  the 
evil  passion  from  which  the  man  suffered,  and  whereby  he  was 
enslaved. 

Then  part  of  our  Lord's  work  of  teaching,  for  this  man,  for  His 
disciples,  and  for  the  people  around,  might  very  properly  include  an 
impressive  exhibition  of  the  abominableness  of  this  spirit  and  passion. 
They  saw  it  in  the  suffering  man ;  it  was  well  they  should  see  it  in  the 
beasts.  The  suffering  man  would  be  helped  to  realize  the  greatness  of 
his  deliverance,  as  he  saw  the  terrible  havoc  which  the  passion  which 
had  mastered  him  made  when  it  mastered  the  beasts.  And  we  have 
given  us  in  the  recorded  story  our  most  terrible  warning  against  the 
danger  of  giving  way  to  sensual  passion ;  and  a  teaching  from  oui 


TEACHINGS  BY  DESTRUCTION  OF  PROPERTY.   161 

Lord,  which  the  great  Apostle  puts  in  formal  language  thus—'  That 
every  one  of  you  should  know  how  to  possess  the  vessel  of  his  body 
in  sanctification  and  honour.'  *  Ye  are  not  called  unto  uncleanness, 
but  unto  holiness/ 

The  actual  destruction  of  the  swine  was  no  design  of  our  Lord's. 
It  was  what  we  call  the  accident  of  the  occasion ;  the  result  of  the 
stampede  occurring  on  a  steep  hillside  overhanging  the  lake. 

Though  we  have  not  met  with  this  view  of  the  incident  fully  detailed 
in  any  Bible  writer,  there  are  two  passages  in  TrencJis  chapter  on  the 
miracle  which  may  be  taken  as  supporting  it.  '  It  may  have  been 
necessary  for  the  permanent  healing  of  the  man,  that  he  should  have 
an  outward  evidence  and  testimony  that  the  hellish  powers  which 
held  him  in  bondage  had  quitted  their  hold.  He  wanted  his  deliver- 
ance sealed  and  realized  to  him  in  the  open  destruction  of  his 
enemies ;  not  else  would  he  have  been  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  that 
deliverance,  and  that  Christ  had  indeed  and  for  ever  set  him  free. 
....  But,  again,  it  may  seem  strange  that  the  unclean  spirits  ask 
permission  to  enter  into  the  swine,  yet  no  sooner  have  they  done  so 
than  they  defeat  their  own  purpose,  destroying  that  animal  life,  from 
which,  if  they  be  altogether  driven,  they  have  already  confessed 
they  will  be  obliged  to  betake  them  to  the  more  detested  place  of 
their  punishment.  But  it  is  nowhere  said  that  they  drove  the  swine 
down  the  steep  place  into  the  sea.  It  is  just  as  easy,  and  much 
more  natural,  to  understand  that  against  their  will  the  swine,  when 
they  found  themselves  seized  by  this  new  and  strange  power,  rushed 
themselves  in  wild  panic  and  fear  to  their  destruction — the  foremost 
plunging  headlong  down  the  cliffs,  and  the  rest  blindly  following, 
And  be  it  that  the  creatures  thus  rushed  themselves  to  their  own 
destruction,  or  were  impelled  by  the  foul  spirits,  does  there  not  in 
either  case  reveal  itself  herein  the  very  essence  and  truest  manifesta- 
tion of  evil,  which  evermore  outwits  and  defeats  itself,  being  as 
inevitably  scourged  in  the  granting  of  its  requests  as  in  their  refusal ; 
which,  stupid,  blind,  self-contradicting,  and  suicidal,  can  only  destroy,  • 
and  will  rather  involve  itself  in  the  common  ruin  than  not  destroy.' 

The  Preaching  of  Envy. 

PHILIPPIANS  i.  15     *Some  indeed  preach  Christ  even  of  envy  and  strife.' 

Question. —  Can  preaching  from  altogether  wrong  motives  be  accept- 
able to  God,  or  effective  in  the  salvation  of  men  ? 

Answer. — This  question  does  not  fairly  state  the  position  which 
the  Apostle  presents.  Preaching  from  altogether  wrong  motives  can 

1 1 


1 62      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

neither  be  acceptable  nor  effective.  But  St.  Paul  is  not  dealing  with 
such  a  case,  but  with  the  much  more  difficult  case  of  a  mingling  of 
bad  motives  with  good  ones.  The  fact  is,  that  no  man  acts  from 
absolutely  simple  and  pure  motives — some  strands  of  self-seeking,  at 
least,  mingle  with  the  best  man's  best  work ;  but  the  question  is, 
How  far  may  the  bad  motive  go  without  absolutely  spoiling  a  man's 
work  in  the  sight  of  God  ?  St.  Paul  suggests  the  exercise  of  a  large 
charity.  He  is  keen  enough  to  see  that  '  envy  and  strife  '  may  be 
almost  presiding  motives  in  some  of  the  Christian  preachers  ;  but 
he  is  willing  not  to  see  this,  if  only  it  is  plain  that  some  purpose  to 
glorify  Christ  and  save  men  also  inspires  them  in  their  service.  The 
Apostle  affords  an  example  of  that  charity  which  he  himself  com- 
mends for  this,  that  it  *  thinketh  no  evil.' 

Archdeacon  Farrar  removes  the  difficulty  suggested  by  the  Apostle's 
references  through  a  careful  study  of  the  connection  in  which  the 
passage  stands.  The  Apostle  is  writing  in  a  very  confidential  way  to 
the  friends  he  loved  so  well  at  Philippi.  He  was  at  the  time  of 
writing  a  prisoner,  but  they  '  must  not  suppose  that  he  was  the  apostle 
of  a  ruined  cause,  or  that  his  imprisonment  was  a  sign  that  God's 
frown  was  on  his  work,  and  that  it  was  coming  to  nought ;  on  the 
contrary,  he  wants  them  to  recognise  that  his  misfortunes  have  been 
overruled  by  God,  to  the  direct  furtherance  of  the  Gospel.  .  .  .  The 
majority  of  the  brethren  had  been  stimulated  by  his  bonds  to  a 
divine  confidence,  which  had  shown  itself  in  a  yet  more  courageous 
daring  than  before  in  preaching  the  Word  of  God.  Some  of  them 
preach  Christ  out  of  genuine  goodwill ;  but  some,  alas  !  tell  the  story 
of  Christ  insincerely,  out  of  mere  envy  and  discord.  The  former  are 
influenced  by  love  to  him,  knowing  that  he  is  appointed  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  Gospel ;  the  latter  announce  Christ  out  of  partisanship 
with  base  motives,  thinking  to  make  his  bonds  more  galling.  Perhaps 
the  day  had  been  when  Paul  might  have  denounced  them  in  tones 
of  burning  rebuke ;  but  he  is  already  Paul  the  prisoner,  though  not 
yet  Paul  the  aged.  He  had  learned,  he  was  learning  more  and  more, 
that  the  wrath  of  man,  even  in  a  holy  cause,  worketh  not  the  right- 
eousness of  God;  he  had  risen,  and  was  rising  more  and  more, 
above  every  personal  consideration.  What  mattered  it  whether  these 
preachers  meant  only  to  insult  him,  and  render  his  bondage  yet  more 
galling  ?  After  all,  "  in  every  way,  whether  with  masked  design  or  in 
sincerity,  Christ  is  being  preached ;  and  therein  I  do,  aye,  and " — 
whatever  angry  feelings  may  try  to  rise  within  my  heart — "I  will 
rejoice." 

It  is  thus  that  the  Apostle  first  tramples  on  the  snake  of  any  mere 


NON-RESISTANCE.  163 

personal  annoyance  that  may  strive  to  hiss  in  his  sad  heart,  and  crushes 
it  yet  more  vigorously  with  a  determined  effort  if  its  hiss  still  tries  to 
make  itself  heard.  He  has  attained  by  this  time  to  a  holy  resigna- 
tion.' 

We  can  have  had  but  an  imperfect  experience  of  life  if  we  have 
not  met  with  men  who  are  sincere  in  their  service  to  Christ,  but 
envious  or  jealous  of  their  fellow-men,  and  ever  raising  quarrels 
among  fellow-workers.  We  are  easily  tempted  to  regard  those  who 
are  unkind  towards  us  as  insincere  and  unfaithful  towards  Christ ; 
but  such  an  idea  is  not  well  founded,  and  we  must  freely  admit  that 
Christ  uses  the  service  of  men  who  are  very  unworthy  in  their  human 
relationships. 

Non-  Resistance. 

MATTHEW  v.  39:  'But  I  say  unto  you,  That  ye  resist  not  evil.'  Rev.  Ver.: 
*  Resist  not  him  that  is  evil.' 

Difficulty. — Social  order  cannot  be  maintained  if  a  /ree  field  is 
thus  to  be  given  to  evil  and  evil  men. 

Answer. — It  should  be  observed  that  these  counsels  were  given 
precisely  to  the  disciples  of  Christ — to  those  who  were  to  be  race- 
leaders — first,  and  therefore  model,  members  of  the  new  kingdom. 
Examples  have  to  be  made  striking  and  impressive.  The  leaders  in 
all  great  movements  have  to  be  large,  extravagant,  almost  exaggerated. 
Principles  to  arrest  popular  attention  must  be  presented  without  their 
due  qualifications — bare,  striking,  looming  large. 

We  see  this  quite  plainly  in  the  commonplace  and  ordinary  affairs 
of  life.  To  recall  the  most  familiar  illustration,  there  is  a  delightful 
extravagance,  an  entire  absence  of  judicial  qualification,  in  the 
appeals  and  demands  of  temperance  advocates  or  vegetarians.  We 
ought  to  find  no  difficulty  in  recognising  that  our  Lord  met  the  same 
conditions,  and  laid  down  the  laws  of  His  new  kingdom,  and  the 
character  and  duties  of  its  members,  in  strong,  bold,  forcible  outline, 
that  should  arrest  attention  and  make  due  impression.  The  difficulty 
felt  in  connection  with  these  '  counsels  of  perfection,'  as  they  have 
been  called,  is  greatly  relieved  when  we  see  that  they  apply,  not  to 
society  (save  as  society  gets  leavened  with  the  Christian  principle), 
but  to  those  quickened  with  the  new  life  in  Christ,  to  His  disciples 
and  to  them  just  so  far  as  they  are  'race-leaders,'  Mights  in  the 
world/ 

We  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  first  men  and  women,  leaders  in 
departments  of  morals,  art,  or  philanthropy,  do  reach  a  perfection 

II 2 


164     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

which  others  cannot  attain ;  we  think  of  them  as  standards  which  in 
spire  commoner  folk  to  nobler  and  higher  things.  We  cannot  all  be 
Raphaels,  or  Taulers,  or  Bernards,  or  Fenelons,  or  Florence  Nightin- 
gales ;  but  we  can  all  be  better  because  they  were  so  good.  And  in 
the  same  way  our  Lord  sets  the  perfect  ideal  before  His  first  disciples, 
because  they  were  to  go  forth  into  the  world  and  be  an  inspiration  to 
men,  moving  them,  drawing  them  up,  to  an  altogether  higher  plane 
of  purity  and  charity.  To  them  He  says,  '  Resist  not  evil,'  that 
through  them  He  might  establish  among  men  mutual  consideration 
and  goodwill,  knitting  men  together  in  the  joy  of  common  service. 
He  begins  with  *  Resist  not  evil,'  because  He  well  knew  that  if  this 
principle  were  thoroughly  carried  out  in  the  world,  there  would  soon 
be  no  evil  to  resist. 

But  the  point  now  insisted  on  is  that  our  Lord  was  not,  in  this 
sermon,  giving  rules  relating  to  the  social  order,  as  it  is  at  present 
constituted.  He  gives  rules  for  certain  individuals — for  all,  indeed, 
who  stand  with  those  individuals,  in  a  personal  relation  to  Christ. 
The  rules  can  be  applied  to  society  as  soon  as  society  is  composed 
of  such  Divinely  renewed  men,  and  not  before.  But  the  presence 
of  Christian  men  in  society,  who  are  faithful  to  Christ's  sublime 
rules,  raises  the  whole  tone  of  society,  and  touches  it  with  a  new 
gentleness. 

A  somewhat  striking  book  has  been  written  by  a  Russian  nobleman, 
giving  an  account  of  the  entire  change  of  his  thought  and  life  from 
the  moment  of  his  accepting  the  rule  '  Resist  not  evil '  as  the  absolute 
law  of  his  life  and  conduct  So  far  as  he  is  himself  concerned,  the 
rule  may  be  safely  applied  ;  but  he  falls  into  the  error  of  applying 
the  rule  to  everybody,  whether  they  have  the  life  in  Christ  or  not. 
Give  us  a  man  who  believes  in  Christ,  and  this  is  the  rule  for  him. 
Give  us  a  society  made  up  of  Christians,  and  leavened  with  the 
Christian  spirit,  and  this  is  the  rule  for  such  a  society.  We  will  urge 
Christ's  laws  wherever  men  have  been  won  to  Christ's  allegiance ; 
but  they  cannot  be  applied  where  Christ's  authority  is  not  admitted. 

It  may  be  interesting  and  useful  to  summarize  the  various  explana- 
tions given  of  this  so-called  '  doctrine  of  non-resistance.'  In  passing, 
we  may  note  that  the  Apostle  fully  entered  into  the  spirit  of  his 
Master;  for,  pleading  with  Christians,  he  says,  *  Why  do  ye  not 
rather  suffer  yourselves  to  be  defrauded  ?  And,  advising  the  young 
minister,  who  is  to  be  the  example  of  the  Christian  spirit,  he  says, 
'  The  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not  strive" 

Olshausen  says  :  *  The  idea  of  retaliation  (jus  talionis\  which  is  the 
foundation  of  the  law  in  general,  is  expressed  in  Exodus  xxi.  24.  But 


NON-RESISTANCE.  165 

the  Pharisees  made  such  a  use  of  retaliation,  that  it  could  not  but 
become  a  cloak  for  revenge  and  uncharitableness.  Christ,  on  the 
contrary,  conceives  the  idea  in  the  spirit  of  the  purest  love,  and  de- 
rives thence  the  command  of  self-denial  and  resignation.  "  Eye  for 
eye,  tooth  for  tooth,"  is  an  eternal  law  in  the  government  of  the 
world ;  but  love  takes  the  brother's  fault  on  itself,  and,  by  thus  be- 
coming like  him,  causes  him  to  become  like  it.  Thus,  out  of  the 
jus  talionis  love  procures  salvation  and  forgiveness,  which  is  nothing 
but  retaliation  reversed,  and  cannot,  therefore,  exist  without  the 
Saviour's  suffering.  This  conquering  by  succumbing  is  the  essence 
of  the  Gospel/ 

Pressense  takes  the  line  of  the  explanation  which  we  have  suggested. 
He  says:  'After  pointing  out  the  conditions  of  entrance  into  His 
kingdom,  Jesus  traces,  in  a  few  words,  the  noble  mission  of  the  new 
Israel ;  it  is  to  be  the  light  to  lighten  the  world,  and  the  salt  to  pre- 
serve it  from  corruption.  Then  He  declares  the  law  of  His  kingdom, 
showing  that,  far  from  destroying  the  old  covenant,  it  truly  accom- 
plishes it,  by  supplementing  all  its  imperfections.  Instead  of  lessening 
moral  obligation,  He  extends  it,  carrying  it  into  the  inner  region  of 
the  heart.  For  the  law  of  retaliation  He  substitutes  the  great  com- 
mandment of  true  charity,  which  returns  benefits  for  injuries  and 
wrongs.  This  Divine  principle  puts  to  flight  all  the  sophisms  of 
Pharisaic  casuistry.' 

The  older  view,  which  strove  to  adjust  the  command  of  Christ  to 
the  exigencies  of  social  order  and  government,  may  be  represented 
by  the  following  passage  from  John  Chrysostom  : — '  Let  us  suppose 
that  the  law  is  entirely  cast  aside,  that  all  fear  of  promised  punish- 
ment is  done  away  with,  that  the  wicked  are  left  to  live  according  to 
their  inclinations,  without  fear  of  punishment :  adulterers,  murderers, 
thieves,  and  perjurers.  Would  not  all  be  overthrown  ? — would  not 
houses,  market-places,  cities,  lands,  seas,  the  whole  universe,  be  full 
of  iniquity  ?  This  is  obvious  ;  for  if  even  the  existence  of  laws,  fear 
and  threats  of  punishment,  cannot  keep  the  evil-intentioned  within 
bounds,  what  would  there  then  be  to  restrain  men  from  evil  deeds,  if 
all  obstacles  were  removed  ?  What  disasters  would  then  rush  in 
torrents  into  the  lives  of  men  !  Cruelty  does  not  lie  in  leaving  the 
wicked  free  to  act  as  they  please,  but  in  letting  the  innocent  man  suffer 
without  defending  him.'  Chrysostom  argues  that  the  law,  *  Resist  not 
evil,'  cannot  be  applied  to  the  regular  government  of  society. 

Dean  Plumptre  puts  the  matter  very  skilfully  into  a  few  sentences. 
*  The  principle  is  clearly  and  simply  this,  that  the  disciple  of  Christ, 
when  he  has  suffered  wrong,  is  to  eliminate  altogether  from  his 


166      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

motives  the  natural  desire  to  retaliate  or  accuse.  As  far  as  he  him- 
self is  concerned,  he  must  be  prepared,  in  language  which,  because 
it  is  above  our  common  human  strain,  has  stamped  itself  on  the 
hearts  and  memories  of  men,  to  turn  the  left  cheek  when  the  right 
has  been  smitten.  But  the  man  who  has  been  wronged  has  other 
duties  which  he  cannot  rightly  ignore.  The  law  of  the  Eternal  has 
to  be  asserted,  society  to  be  protected,  the  offender  to  be  reclaimed  ; 
and  these  may  well  justify — though  personal  animosity  does  not— 
protest,  prosecution,  punishment.' 

Lack  of  Knowledge  limiting  Guilt. 

I  CORINTHIANS  ii.  8  :  *  Which  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew  :  for  had 
they  known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory.' 

Difficulty. — The  Apostle  seems  to  remove  the  guilt  of  those  who 
crucified  Christ^  by  presenting  for  them  the  excuse  of  their  ignorance. 

Explanation. — When  ignorance  is  mere  disability,  it  must  be 
duly  considered  as  qualifying  moral  guilt.  When  ignorance  is  wilful- 
ness  or  indifference,  it  must  be  treated  as  increasing  moral  guilt.  If 
St.  Paul  was  thinking  of  such  Gentiles  as  Pilate,  he  might  fairly  urge 
that  their  ignorance  was  disability,  and  formed  a  reasonable  excuse 
for  their  conduct  If  he  was  thinking  of  the  Jewish  leaders,  he 
might  also  fairly  urge  that  their  ignorance  of  Christ  was  wilfulness 
and  guilt,  and  formed  an  aggravation  of  their  conduct.  At  any 
given  time  a  man  is  responsible  for  acting  up  to  his  light ;  but  it 
must  also  be  said  that  every  man  is  responsible  for  the  measure  of 
light  which  he  has  at  any  given  time.  An  illustration  may  be  found 
in  the  conscience.  That  is  man's  inward  light,  but  he  is  responsible 
for  the  degree  of  its  illumination. 

The  guilt  of  allowing  legal  forms  to  aid  the  malicious  designs  of 
evil  men — and  the  guilt  of  the  judicial  murder  of  one  known,  and 
admitted,  not  to  be  guilty  of  any  crime  worthy  of  death — must  rest 
on  Pilate ;  but  the  precise  guilt  of  putting  the  Messiah  to  death 
cannot  be  charged  on  him,  because  about  Messiahs  he  knew  nothing. 

Professor  Radford  Thomson  says  :  '  When  the  Jews  and  the  Roman 
governor  united  in  effecting  the  crucifixion  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  neither 
party  to  the  proceeding  can  be  said  to  have  understood  and  realized 
what  was  being  done.  The  enemies  and  murderers  of  the  Prophet 
of  Nazareth  saw  neither  the  glory  of  His  character  and  person  more 
han  very  dimly,  nor  the  glory  of  His  redemption  in  any  measure  at 
all.  Jesus  Himself  had  declared,  "  They  know  not  what  they  do ;" 
and  Paul  here  says  that,  had  they  known  the  counsels  of  God,  they 


LACK  OF  KNOWLEDGE  LIMITING  GUILT.      167 

would  not  have  crucified  Christ.  This  does  not  justify  or  excuse 
their  act,  for  they  certainly  knew  that  they  were  putting  to  a  cruel 
death  One  who  was  innocent  and  just.' 

From  the  point  of  view  of  merely  worldly  policy,  the  crucifixion  of 
Christ  was  a  profound  mistake.  Martyrdom  never  effects  the  objects 
sought  by  the  persecutors.  It  tends  rather  to  glorify,  in  the  popular 
sentiment,  the  cause  for  which  the  martyrs  died.  *  Not  a  single 
calculation  of  those  who  compassed  the  Saviour's  death  was  destined 
to  be  fulfilled.  Pilate  did  not  escape  the  emperor's  displeasure. 
Caiaphas  (John  xi.  50)  did  not  save  Jerusalem.  The  scribes  and 
Pharisees  did  not  put  down  the  doctrine  of  Jesus.' 

The  rulers  could  only  put  Christ  to  death  while  deceiving  them- 
selves or  deceived  as  to  His  character  and  claims.  They  could  not 
have  put  Messiah  to  death.  The  whole  hope  of  their  race  centred  in 
Him.  But  for  that  very  reason  their  feelings  were  the  more  intense 
against  a  man  of  despised  Nazareth,  who  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah, 
and,  they  thought,  dishonoured  the  very  idea  of  the  Messiahship  by 
His  imposture.  Had  they  known — had  they  seen  His  glory,  they  too 
would  have  bowed  the  knee  to  Him,  and  crowned  Him  with  many 
crowns. 

The  Law  of  Fair  Wages. 

MATTHEW  xx.  IO,  II  :  'They  likewise  received  every  man  a  penny.  And 
when  they  had  received  it,  they  murmured  against  the  goodman  of  the  house.' 

Question. — Did  the  master  act  fairly  in  thus  giving  the  same  wage 
for  one  hour's  work  as  for  ten  hours'  work? 

Answer. — The  answer  is,  that  the  fact  of  a  man's  having  entered 
into  an  agreement  with  one  man  provides  no  adequate  reason  for 
his  acting  even  with  extravagant  generosity  to  another  man.  In 
common  life  it  is  perfectly  fair  to  keep  the  man  to  his  terms  who  is 
anxious  to  make  terms,  and  at  the  same  time  to  treat  another  man 
with  generosity  who  has  trusted  himself  to  our  generosity.  The  key 
to  this  parable  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  labourers  early  engaged 
insisted  on  an  agreement ;  those  later  engaged  trusted  the  master  to 
give  them  what  was  right.  The  Master  can  therefore  fairly  plead, 
'  Didst  thou  not  agree  with  Me  for  a  penny  ?'  A  man  is  bound  to 
his  debts  and  engagements,  but  there  are  no  bonds  that  can  bind  a 
man's  charity.  No  doubt  the  parable  was  designed  to  check  such 
exaggeration  of  'term-making'  and  'wage- fixing*  as  is  in  our  day 
destroying  the  nobler  and  more  trustful  relations  of  capital  and  labour. 

The  connection  in  which  the  parable  stands  reveals  the  fact  that  it 
was  designed  to  check  the  undue  confidence  and  the  exaggerated 


1 68      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

hopes  of  those  disciples  who  had  been  the  first  to  follow  Christ. 
Dr.  C.  Geikic  says :  *  Nothing  could  have  been  more  fitted  to  check 
any  tendency  to  self-importance  and  pride,  so  natural  in  men  raised 
to  a  position  so  inconceivably  above  their  original  station.  Nor  was 
there  room,  henceforth,  for  any  mercenary  thoughts,  even  of  future 
reward,  for  the  discharge  of  their  duty.  They  could  not  forget  that, 
though  first  to  enter  the  vineyard  of  the  new  kingdom,  they  were  yet, 
so  far,  on  a  footing  with  all  who  should  follow  them,  that  the  spiritual 
worth  of  their  work  alone  determined  their  ultimate  honour.  The 
special  reward  promised  by  their  Master  was  a  free  gift  of  God,  no', 
the  payment  of  a  debt,  and  depended  on  their  own  spirit  and  zeal.' 

Archdeacon  Farrar  says  :  '  To  impress  upon  them  (the  disciples, 
still  more  fully  and  deeply  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  not  a 
matter  of  mercenary  calculation  or  exact  equivalent — that  there 
could  be  no  bargaining  with  the  Heavenly  Householder — that  before 
the  eye  of  God's  clearer  and  more  penetrating  judgment  Gentiles 
might  be  admitted  before  Jews,  and  publicans  before  Pharisees,  and 
young  converts  before  aged  apostles — He  told  them  the  memorable 
parable  of  the  Labourers  in  the  Vineyard.  That  parable,  amid  its 
other  lessons,  involved  the  truth  that,  while  all  who  serve  God 
should  not  be  defrauded  of  their  just  and  full  and  rich  reward,  there 
could  be  in  heaven  no  murmuring,  no  envyings,  no  jealous  com- 
parison of  respective  merits,  no  base  strugglings  for  precedency,  no 
miserable  disputings  as  to  who  had  performed  the  maximum  of 
service,  or  who  had  received  the  minimum  of  grace.' 

Dr.  David  Brown  paraphrases  the  answer  of  the  Master  thus  : 
'  You  appeal  to  justice,  and  by  that  your  mouth  is  shut ;  for  the  sum 
you  agreed  for  is  paid  you.  Your  case  being  disposed  of,  with  the 
terms  I  make  with  other  labourers  you  have  nothing  to  do ;  and  to 
grudge  the  benevolence  shown  to  others,  when  by  your  own  admis- 
sion you  have  been  honourably  dealt  with,  is  both  unworthy  envy  of 
your  neighbour  and  discontent  with  the  goodness  that  engaged  and 
rewarded  you  in  his  service  at  all.' 

The  Fig-tree  Curse. 

MATTHEW  xxi.  19  :  '  And  seeing  a  fig-tree  by  the  wayside,  He  came  to  it,  and 
found  nothing  thereon,  but  leaves  only  ;  and  He  saith  unto  it,  Let  there  be  no 
fruit  from  thee  henceforward  for  ever.' 

Difficulty. — This  miracle  appears  to  be  an  exception  to  our  Lord's 
rule,  that  no  miracle  should  be  wrought  for  His  own  personal  ends. 
This  appears  to  be  an  expression  of  personal  annoyance. 

Explanation. — All  single  actions  done  by  men,  if  fairly  con- 


THE  FIG-TREE  CURSE.  169 

sidered,  are  climated  in  the  light  of  the  general  character  which 
they  have  established.  If  we  come  upon  a  difficult  incident,  our 
assumption  should  always  be  that  the  man  in  this  case  has  acted 
consistently  with  his  known  character ;  and  we  should  require  very 
clear  and  very  sufficient  proofs  before  we  admit  that  the  action  is 
exceptional,  and  standing  in  a  painful  contrast  to  the  rest  of  his  life. 

This  principle  should  guide  our  judgment  of  any  difficult  incident 
recorded  in  the  life  of  our  Lord.  We  know  Him.  We  begin  every 
consideration  of  a  new  event  or  action  with  the  confidence  that  He 
was  self-restrained,  He  did  not  give  way  to  passion,  and  He  did  not 
please  Himself.  It  is  quite  certain  that  we  shall  explain  nothing  in 
His  life  satisfactorily  unless  our  explanation  runs  in  fullest  harmony 
with  these  characteristics. 

A  teacher — and  especially  an  Eastern  teacher — does  his  work  by 
actions  as  well  as  by  words.  Sufficient  illustration  of  this  is  found  in 
the  stories  of  the  later  Jewish  prophets,  who  married  wives,  hid 
girdles,  made  yokes,  and  did  many  other  things  as  a  part  of  their 
prophetic  work.  So  our  Lord  taught  by  actions.  One  day  He  took 
a  child,  and  set  him  down  in  the  midst  of  the  disciples.  Another 
day  He  walked  on  the  waves.  On  another  He  permitted  the  swine 
to  destroy  themselves.  And  in  this  incident  of  the  barren  fig-tree  we 
have  another  instance  of  teaching  by  action. 

It  may  be  also  urged  that  the  quick  poetical  faculty  of  our  Lord, 
and  the  quick  spiritual  faculty,  led  Him  to  discern  symbols  of  spiritual 
truths  in  everything,  even  in  the  simplest  things.  Everything  could 
be  turned  to  some  good  account  in  the  training  of  His  apostles  for 
their  great  life-work. 

It  was  the  formal  temptation  presented  to  our  Lord  in  the  outset 
of  His  mission  that  He  should  use  His  miraculous  endowments  for 
His  own  supply,  for  His  own  comfort,  for  securing  His  own  personal 
ends.  That  temptation  was  then  resisted  and  overcome.  It  recurred 
again  and  again  throughout  His  public  life,  but  it  was  always  re- 
sisted, and  there  is  no  instance  recorded  in  which,  if  the  case  be 
fairly  considered,  He  yielded  to  use  miraculous  gifts  for  personal  ends. 

The  case  of  the  barren  fig-tree  may  look  like  it,  but  further  study 
of  it  brings  to  v\ew  the  fact  that  it  bore  directly  on  the  spiritual 
culture  of  the  apostles,  and  had  this  for  its  designed  end.  At  this 
time  every  word  and  every  act  of  our  Lord  was  watched  with  intense 
interest.  It  was  a  time  when  He  might  well  put  a  significance  into 
every  act.  It  was  precisely  the  time  in  His  ministry  when  He  was 
teaching  by  symbols — by  the  triumphal  entry,  and  the  driving  out 
of  the  money-changers.  The  cursing  of  the  fig-tree  exactly  fits 


iyo    HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

into  the  mood  and  the  manner  of  the  period,  and  we  naturally  class 
it  with  the  symbolical  instructions.  Our  Lord  saw  in  it  the  type  of  the 
boastful  professor,  the  virtual  hypocrite ;  to  Him  it  represented  boastful 
Pharisaism  and  self-satisfied  Jerusalem,  so  He  made  it  present  the 
further  type  of  the  hypocrite's  doom,  the  Pharisee's  judgment,  and 
Jerusalem's  desolation.  This,  however,  proved  too  hard  for  the 
disciples  at  the  time,  so  our  Lord  graciously  gave  them  a  simple 
lesson  from  the  fact  that  the  tree  had  withered  at  the  word  spoken  in 
faith.  It  is  not  that  mere  surface-lesson,  but  the  deeper  one  of  His 
symbolic  act,  which  has  come  to  the  mind,  and  been  stored  as  the 
treasure  of  the  Christian  ages. 

It  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  design  of  this  work  that  an  elaborate 
exposition  of  the  incident  should  be  given ;  but  the  support  of  good 
writers  to  the  line  of  explanation  offered  may  be  added. 

We  naturally  turn  first  to  Trench,  who  suggestively  says  :  '  A  sym- 
bolic action  is  done  as  real,  as  meaning  something  ;  and  yet,  although 
not  meaning  the  thing  which  it  professes  to  mean,  is  no  deception, 
since  it  means  something  infinitely  higher  and  deeper,  of  which  the 
lower  action  is  a  type,  and  in  which  that  lower  is  lost  and  swallowed 
up  ;  transfigured  and  transformed  by  the  higher,  whereof  it  is  made 
the  vehicle.  What  was  it,  for  instance,  here,  if  Christ  did  not  mean 
really  to  look  for  fruit  on  that  tree,  being  aware  that  it  had  none  ? 
Yet  He  did  mean  to  show  how  it  would  fare  with  a  man  or  with  a 
nation,  when  God  came  looking  from  it  for  the  fruits  of  righteousness, 
and  found  nothing  but  the  abundant  leaves  of  a  boastful  yet  empty 
profession.' 

Neander  says  almost  all  that  need  be  said  on  the  subject  The 
proper  light  in  which  to  regard  this  act  is  its  symbolical  character. 
*  If  the  miracles  generally  have  a  symbolical  import,  we  have  in  this 
case  one  that  is  entirely  symbolical.  The  fig-tree,  rich  in  foliage,  but 
destitute  of  fruit,  represents  the  Jewish  people,  so  abundant  in  out- 
ward shows  of  piety,  but  destitute  of  its  reality.  Their  vital  sap  was 
squandered  upon  leaves.  And,  as  the  fruitless  tree,  failing  to  realize 
the  aim  of  its  being,  was  destroyed,  so  the  theocratic  nation,  for  the 
same  reason,  was  to  be  overtaken,  after  long  forbearance,  by  the 
judgments  of  God,  and  shut  out  from  His  kingdom.  The  prophets 
were  accustomed  to  convey  both  instructions  and  warnings  by  sym- 
bolical acts  ;  and  the  purport  of  this  act,  as  both  warning  and  pre- 
diction, was  precisely  suited  to  the  time.  But  to  understand  Christ's 
act  aright,  we  must  not  conceive  that  He  at  once  caused  a  sound  tree 
to  wither.  This  would  not  be  in  harmony  with  the  general  aim  of 
His  miracles  ;  nor  would  it  correspond  to  the  idea  which  He  designed 


THE  FIG-TREE  CURSE.  171 

to  set  vividly  before  the  disciples.  A  sound  tree,  suddenly  destroyed, 
would  certainly  be  no  fitting  type  of  the  Jewish  people.  We  must 
rather  believe  that  the  same  cause  which  made  the  tree  barren  had 
already  prepared  the  way  for  its  destruction,  and  that  Christ  only 
hastened  a  crisis  which  had  to  come  in  the  course  of  nature.  In 
this  view  it  would  correspond  precisely  to  the  great  event  in  the 
world's  history  which  it  was  designed  to  prefigure  :  the  moral  char- 
acter of  the  Jewish  nation  had  long  been  fitting  it  for  destruction  ; 
and  the  Divine  government  of  the  world  only  brought  on  the  crisis.' 

The  connection  of  the  incident  with  some  of  our  Lord's  previous 
teachings  is  skilfully  presented  by  Dean  Plumptre.  '  From  the  lips 
of  one  of  like  passions  with  ourselves,  the  words  used  by  Christ 
might  seem  the  utterance  of  impatient  disappointment.  Here  they 
assume  the  character  of  a  solemn  judgment,  passed  not  so  much  on 
the  tree  as  on  that  of  which  it  became  the  representative.  The  Jews, 
in  their  show  of  the  "  leaves  "  of  outward  devotion  in  the  absence  of 
the  "  fruits  "  of  righteousness,  were  as  that  "  barren  tree."  But  a 
few  weeks  before  (Luke  xiii.  6),  He  had  taken  the  fig-tree  to  which 
"  a  man  came  seeking  fruit  and  finding  none  "  as  a  parable  of  the 
state  of  Israel.  Then  the  sentence,  "  Cut  it  down,"  had  been  delayed, 
as  in  the  hope  of  a  possible  amendment.  Now,  what  He  saw  flashed 
upon  Him  in  a  moment  (if  we  may  so  speak)  as  the  parable  em- 
bodied. .  .  .  The  sentence  which  He  now  passed  on  the  tree,  and 
its  immediate  fulfilment,  were  symbols  of  the  sentence  and  the  doom 
which  were  about  to  fall  on  the  unrepentant  and  unbelieving  people.' 

Making   Friends   through   Mammon. 

LUKE  xvi.  9  :  '  And  I  say  unto  you,  Make  to  yourselves  friends  by  means  of  the 
mammon  of  unrighteousness  ;  that,  when  it  shall  fail,  they  may  receive  you  into 
the  eternal  tabernacles.'  (Rev.  Ver.} 

Question. — If  this  is  what  it  seems  to  be,  a  counsel  of  selfish 
txpediency,  is  it  not  altogether  unworthy  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  1 

Answer. — Our  Lord's  words  are  not  to  be  taken  seriously.  We 
need  have  no  difficulty  in  accepting  the  fact  that  our  Lord  used 
*  irony '  as  a  method  of  instruction  ;  and  a  careful  observation  of  the 
connection  in  which  this  passage  stands  shows  that  our  Lord  was 
searching  out,  humiliating,  and  almost  raising  the  laugh  against  the 
conceited  and  hypocritical  Pharisees.  In  verse  14  it  is  carefully 
noted,  that  '  the  Pharisees  also,  who  were  covetous,  heard  all  these 
things,  and  they  derided  Him,'  evidently  feeling  the  keenness  of  His 
irony. 

The  ironical  character  comes  out  in  the  close  of  the  sentence.    We 


172      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

feel  at  once  the  absurdity  of  wealthy  friends  securing  for  us  eternal 
tabernacles ;  and  so  we  understand  Christ  to  mean  that  '  making 
friends  for  ourselves  by  means  of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness  ' 
is  exactly  what  we  should  not  do  if  we  are  His  disciples.  This  unjust 
steward  is  a  warning  in  every  sense,  and  not  in  any  sense  an  example. 
A  warning  most  of  all  in  this,  that  when  he  fell  into  trouble,  he  did 
not  trust  God  or  wait  upon  Him,  but  set  himself  upon  getting  out  of 
his  trouble  by  selfish,  mean,  and  wicked  expedients.  The  parable 
becomes  perfectly  clear  if  thus  the  meaning  is  discerned  which  under- 
lies its  ironical  form. 

Hesitating  to  associate  the  ironical  with  Christ,  as  if  it  were  in 
itself  something  evil,  Biblical  writers  labour  very  hard  at  harmonizing 
this  with  other  teachings  of  our  Lord.  A  few  specimens  may  be  given. 

Olshausen  thinks  the  sense  of  the  words  is  obviously  this  :  '  Employ 
the  unrighteous  mammon  in  making  yourselves  friends  with  as  much 
prudence  as  that  steward  did  in  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was 
placed.' 

Dean  Plumptre  takes  Christ  seriously,  and  explains,  'The  right 
use  of  wealth  in  helping  the  poor,  making  men  happier  and  better, 
leading  them  to  repentance  and  to  God,  will  gain  for  us  friends, 
perhaps  the  very  persons  whom  we  have  helped,  perhaps  the  angels 
of  God  who  rejoice  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  perhaps  even 
Christ  and  the  Father,  who  will  receive  us  into  "  everlasting  habita- 
tions." ' 

The  Speakers  Commentary  takes  the  view  that  our  Lord  here 
commends  kindness  to  the  poor ;  and  it  quotes  Oosterzee  in  support. 

Luther  says:  *  It  is  a  sermon  on  good  works,  and  especially  against 
avarice,  that  men  abuse  not  wealth,  but  therewith  help  poor  and 
needy  people.' 

Archdeacon  Farrar  thinks  the  parable  was  given  'to  show  the 
disciples  the  necessity  of  care  and  faithfulness,  of  prudence  and 
wisdom,  in  so  managing  the  affairs  and  interests  and  possessions  of 
this  life  as  not  to  lose  hereafter  their  heritage  of  the  eternal  riches. 
With  the  supreme  and  daring  paradox  which  impressed  His  divine 
teaching  on  the  heart  and  memory  of  the  world,  He  urged  them  to 
the  foresight  of  a  spiritual  wisdom  by  an  example  drawn  from  the 
foresight  of  a  criminal  cleverness.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  follows  the  line  of  those  who  see  a  commendation 
of  charity  in  the  parable.  c  Fit  yourselves,  by  labours  of  love  and 
deeds  of  true  charity,  as  My  followers,  to  become  fellow-citizens  of 
the  heavenly  mansions,  with  those  whose  wants  you  have  relieved 
while  they  were  still  in  life.' 


THE  CHRISTIAN  IDEA  OF  PUNISHMENT.      173 


The   Christian    Idea  of  Punishment. 

2  CORINTHIANS  ii.  6,  7  :  'Sufficient  to  such  a  man  is  this  punishment,  which 
was  inflicted  of  many.  So  that  contrariwise  ye  ought  rather  to  forgive  him,  and 
comfort  him,  lest  perhaps  such  a  one  should  be  swallowed  up  with  overmuch 
sorrow.' 

Question. — Must  the  Christian  idea  of  punishment  be  restricted  to 
Church  relations,  and  to  sins  cognizable  by  the  Church  ;  or  may  it  be 
applied  to  the  common  social  and  governmental  relations  of  men  ? 

Answer. — The  Church  is  not  the  world ;  and  until  it  is  its  laws 
and  rules  cannot  be  strictly  applied  beyond  its  own  limits.  But  the 
Church  is  the  ideal  society.  It  is  what  the  world  should  be ;  what 
the  world  is  to  be.  So  its  principles,  its  rules,  its  treatment  of  its 
various  members,  are  the  ideal  principles,  rules,  and  dealings,  which 
ought  to  be  widely  known  and  accepted,  and  ought  to  regenerate 
society.  The  Christian  idea  of  punishment  is  the  perfect  idea ;  but 
it  cannot  be  perfectly  and  universally  accepted  until  the  whole 
relations  of  men  are  lifted  up  into  the  Christian  plane.  It  is  the 
right,  but  the  expedient  must  rule  until  men  are  ready  for  the  right. 

This  general  answer  will  be  supported  by  the  Christian  idea  of 
punishment,  as  so  finely  given  by  F.  W.  Robertson,  of  Brighton. 
*  It  includes,  first,  the  reformation  of  the  offender.  This  is  the  first 
and  most  natural  object  of  punishment ;  and  we  infer  it  to  have  been 
part  of  St.  Paul's  intention,  because  when  this  end  had  been  attained, 
he  required  that  punishment  should  cease  ;  "  Sufficient  to  such  a 
man  is  this  punishment."  Now  herein  consists  the  peculiar  spirit  ot 
Christianity,  that  whereas  the  ancient  system  of  law  sacrificed  the 
individual  to  society,  and  feeble  philanthropy  would  sacrifice  society 
to  the  individual,  Christianity  would  save  both.  It  respects  the 
decencies  of  life  and  its  rights  ;  it  says  the  injurer  must  suffer  ;  but 
it  says,  too,  he  also  is  a  living  soul,  we  must  consider  him, — we  must 
punish  so  that  he  shall  be  made  not  worse,  but  better.  So  it  was 
not  only  the  dignity  of  the  Corinthian  Church  that  St.  Paul  thought 
of :  he  thought  also  of  the  fallen,  guilty  state  of  his  spirit  who  had 
degraded  that  Church.  He  punished  him  that  his  spirit  might  be 
saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

•The  second  thing  included  in  this  idea  is  the  purification  of 
society.  Punishment  was  also  necessary  for  this  reason — that  sin 
committed  with  impunity  corrupts  the  body  of  men  to  which  the 
sinner  belongs.  This  St.  Paul  declares  in  the  First  Epistle  :  "  A  little 
leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump."  Now  the  purification  of  society 


174      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

is  effected  partly  by  example,  and  partly  by  removal  of  the  evil. 
The  discipline  by  which  this  removal  was  effected  was  called  excom- 
munication. At  that  time,  apostolic  excommunication  represented 
to  the  world  God's  system  of  punishment.  I  do  not  say  that  it  does 
so  now,  for  the  Church  and  the  world  have  become  so  mixed, 
Church  and  State  so  trench  upon  each  other's  functions,  that  we 
know  not  where  the  division  is.  But  I  conceive  that  in  early  times 
the  Church  discipline  was  representative  of  the  true  idea  of  punish- 
ment :  clearly  St.  Paul  thought  so.  He  did  not  think  of  extending 
it  beyond  the  Church ;  for  his  idea  of  the  Church  was  that  of  a  pure 
society  in  the  world,  representing  what  the  world  should  be ;  and  so 
he  does  not  require  this  separation  to  be  rigidly  enforced  with  respect 
to  worldly  men.  For  God  judged  those  without,  while  the  Church, 
God's  representative,  judged  and  exhibited  this  principle  of  punish- 
ment on  those  within. 

*  These  two — to  reform,  and  to  serve  as  an  example — are  the  only 
views  of  punishment  which  are  found  in  the  popular  notion  of  it 
But  if  we  think  deeper  on  the  subject,  we  shall  find,  I  believe,  that 
there  is  another  idea  in  punishment  which  cannot  be  lost  sight  of. 
It  is  this — that  punishment  is  the  expression  of  righteous  indigna- 
tion :  God's  punishment  is  the  expression  of  God's  indignation  ; 
man's  punishment  is  the  expression  of  man's  indignation.  There  is 
a  right  feeling  in  human  nature  which  we  call  resentment :  it  exists 
equally  in  the  best  and  the  worst  natures ;  although  in  the  worst  it 
becomes  malice.  It  existed  in  Christ  Himself,  for  it  is  not  a  peculiarity 
of  fallen  human  nature,  but  it  is  an  inseparable  element  of  human 
nature  itself.  Now  let  us  mark  what  follows  from  this  :  Man  is  the 
image  of  God  :  all  spirits  are  of  the  same  family.  So  there  is  some- 
thing in  God  which  corresponds  with  that  which  we  call  resentment, 
stripped,  of  course,  of  all  emotion,  selfishness,  or  fury. 

1  It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  should  strongly  object  to  explain  away 
those  words  of  Scripture,  "  the  wrath  of  God  "  ;  "  God  is  angry  with 
the  wicked  every  day  "  ;  "the  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven." 
These  sayings  contain  a  deep  and  awful  truth.  God's  punishment  is 
God's  wrath  against  sin ;  and  is  not  merely  the  consequence  of  life- 
less laws,  but  the  expression  of  the  feeling  of  a  Living  Spirit  It 
would  be  most  perilous  to  do  away  with  these  words  ;  for  if  the  wrath 
of  God  be  only  a  figure,  His  love  must  be  but  a  figure,  too.  Such, 
therefore,  is  the  true  idea  of  human  punishment.  It  exists  to  reform 
the  offender,  to  purify  society,  and  also  to  express  God's  and  man's 
indignation  at  sin.' — Lectures  on  Corinthians. 


THE  LA  W  OF  FINAL  JUDGMENT.  1 7 5 

The  Law  of  Final  Judgment. 

MATTHEW  x.  15  :  'Verily  I  say  unto  you,  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the 
land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of  judgment  than  for  that  city.' 

Difficulty. — Can  it  be  right  to  make  judgment  depend  on  privilege ', 
seeing  that  privilege  is  dependent  on  God's  sovereign  will^  and  not  on 
anything  man  can  do  ? 

Explanation. — This  difficulty  rests  on  somewhat  narrow  and 
dogmatic  views  of  what  the  *  final  judgment '  is.  The  judgment  ot 
those  to  whom  Christ  has  been  offered  may  take  cognizance  simply 
of  the  acceptance  or  rejection  of  the  offer.  But  this  condition  01 
judgment  cannot  be  applied  to  all  mankind  ;  it  cannot  be  made  the 
test  of  those  who  lived  before  Christ  came,  nor  of  those  who  have 
lived  and  died,  or  do  still  live,  without  any  knowledge  of  Him.  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  express  the  terms  of  universal  judgment  in  the 
words,  *  Thou  renderest  to  every  man  according  to  his  works.'  And 
New  Testament  Scriptures  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  Old  ;  for 
we  are  told  that  '  we  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ,  that  everyone  may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body, 
according  to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad.' 

A  notion  has  been  allowed  to  grow  up  amongst  us,  and  to  get 
established,  that  the  results  of  final  judgment  are  only  two — accept- 
ance or  rejection.  Our  minds  are  almost  unable  to  admit  that  there 
will  be  varieties,  precisions,  and  adaptations  in  the  judgments 
announced.  And  yet  our  Lord  clearly  laid  down  the  principle  of 
variety  when  He  taught  that  those  who  knew  not  their  Lord's  will 
should  be  beaten  with  few  stripes. 

In  the  variation  and  precision  of  the  final  sentences  lies  the 
explanation  of  this  difficulty,  as  it  is  above  stated.  If  judgment  were 
not  carefully  adjusted  to  each  case,  due  account  of  the  circumstances 
of  each  individual  need  not  be  taken.  The  sin  of  men  is  weighed 
and  considered  in  the  light  of  their  surroundings  and  their  oppor 
tunities.  No  man  is  responsible  for  his  privileges  or  his  disabilities, 
any  more  than  for  his  birth.  What  has  to  be  discovered  is  the 
character  which  finds,  or  has  found,  expression  in  conduct  under  such 
and  such  circumstances ;  and  the  all-wise  God  can  duly  appraise,  and 
fairly  deal  with,  the  precise  measure  and  weight  of  guilt  in  each  case. 
Duly  considering  the  moral  g'uilt  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the 
light  of  their  times  and  knowledge,  and  setting  over  against  it  the 
moral  guilt  of  the  people  of  Palestine  in  the  light  of  their  times, 
knowledge,  and  opportunities,  it  is  clear  to  everyone  that  a  heavier 
condemnation  ought  to  rest  on  the  Christ-despisers  of  Palestine. 


1 76      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

The  moral  trial  of  a  varied  race  renewing  itself  through  long 
generations  involves  an  infinite  variety  of  testing  conditions  and  cir- 
cumstances. Some  of  these  it  pleases  us  to  consider  '  privileges,'  and 
others  we  call  'disabilities.'  But  they  really  are  no  more  than  various 
conditions  of  moral  trial,  some  causing  lighter  and  some  heavier 
strain.  Judgment  will  surely  take  into  due  account  the  various 
degrees  of  strain,  and,  if  we  may  use  business  terms,  in  every  case 
produce  a  '  net  result/ 

If  we  were  explaining  the  text  rather  than  meeting  a  difficulty,  we 
should  point  out  that  our  Lord  is  not  stating  a  fact,  but  illustrating  a 
principle,  and  using  a  strong  figure  in  His  illustration.  As  a  fact, 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  as  a  nation,  had  already  been  judged,  con- 
demned, and  appropriately  punished ;  and  our  Lord's  reference  to  it 
really  amounts  only  to  this  :  '  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  such  a 
sinner,  or  sinful  people,  as  the  Sodomites  were,  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment than  for  that  city.'  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  in  fact,  stand  for 
and  represent  a  class. 

Relation  of  Christianity  to  Slavery. 

I  CORINTHIANS  vii.  20,  21  :  '  Let  each  man  abide  in  that  calling  wherein  he 
was  called.  Wast  thou  called,  being  a  bond-servant  ?  care  not  for  it :  but  if  thou 
canst  become  free,  use  it  rather.' 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  from  this  that  St.  Paul  recog- 
nised slavery  as  a  permissible  social  arrangement  ? 

Answer. — Yes,  this  much  must  certainly  be  admitted,  whatever 
further  difficulties  may  seem  to  be  involved  in  the  admission.  The 
horror  of  slavery  is  a  Western,  not  an  Eastern,  sentiment.  St.  Paul 
was  not  socially  above  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and  we  cannot  ex- 
pect him  to  have  fully  seen  how  the  great  Christian  principles  of 
equality,  brotherhood,  and  charity  would  gradually  come  to  change 
social  customs.  The  Bible  nowhere  attacks  slavery ;  but  the  Bible 
reveals  principles  and  truths  which  create  a  sentiment  altogether 
opposed  to  slavery,  and  must  eventually  destroy  it  from  off  the  face 
of  the  earth. 

To  deal  with  this  question  fairly,  we  must  realize  the  very  important 
distinction  between  patriarchal  and  tribal  slavery  and  the  slavery  of 
civilized  lands  and  times,  such  as  that  of  Rome  or  the  American 
States.  Patriarchal  slavery  is  best  represented  by  that  personal  rela- 
tion in  which  his  retainers  stood  to  a  Scotch  lord  or  a  feudal  baron. 
That  was  not  an  ideal  relation,  but  it  was  not  a  hardship  or  a 
degradation,  And  St.  Paul  deals  with  slavery  from  a  distinctly 
Eastern  point  of  view.  He  must,  however,  have  been  also  familiar 


RELATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  SLAVERY.     177 

with  the  terrible  condition  in  which  the  slaves  of  the  Romans  were 
found.  In  view  even  of  the  suffering  which  led  Onesimus  to  escape 
from  his  master,  St.  Paul  requires  his  return,  his  submission,  and  the 
re-acceptance  of  his  obligations. 

The  position  which  St.  Paul  took,  and  consistently  held,  appears 
to  us  to  have  been  this  :  Jesus  Christ  gives  a  new  life  to  men — a  new 
soul-life.  He  did  not  come  to  alter  social  relations,  to  change 
governments,  or  to  introduce  a  new  order.  He  planted  principles. 
He  revealed  truths.  He  quickened  life.  Let  the  life  grow  into 
power,  and  find  expression,  and  it  will  surely  correct  social  errors, 
tone  the  spirit  of  governments,  and  bind  men  together  in  mutual 
helpfulness  and  in  the  bonds  of  '  heavenly  divine  charity.'  But  do 
not  force  it.  Life  wants  freedom  ;  life  wants  time.  Slavery  and  war 
will  both  fade  away,  but  only  as  men  accept  the  principles  and  truths 
af  Christianity,  and  give  room  for  the  growth  and  the  spread  of  its 
influence  in  society. 

St.  Paul  had  to  deal  with  this  practical  difficulty.  The  sense  of 
privilege  and  dignity,  which  those  have  who  know  the  new  life  in 
Christ,  naturally  makes  them  restless  if  their  outward  circumstances 
ire  those  of  inferiority  and  disability.  The  freeman  in  Christ  Jesus 
vould  very  naturally  desire  to  be  a  freeman  in  daily  life,  free  from 
he  bonds  of  any  earthly  master.  Now,  to  take  the  very  lowest 
;round,  it  would  seriously  imperil  Christianity  if  it  became  manifest 
hat  the  results  of  the  spread  would  be  a  struggle  of  the  slave-class 
or  freedom.  The  one  plea  which  the  early  Christians  could  urge 
gainst  their  enemies  was,  that  their  religion  in  no  way  interfered 
vith  business  or  society  or  government.  It  was  an  inner  life,  alto- 
;ether  separate  from  the  external  life  of  association. 

On  the  abstract  wrong  of  slavery,  and  on  the  practical  evils  of  slavery, 
s  we  know  it,  we  hold  strong  and  decided  views  ;  but  it  is  quite  un- 
easonable  for  us  to  attribute  such  views  even  to  the  most  enlightened 
f  Christian  teachers. 

Some  very  wise  and  suggestive  remarks  on  this  subject,  and  on 
lat  of  war,  are  made  by  Professor  IV.  Griffiths,  M.A.  '  In  the  time 
f  our  Saviour  society  was  far  from  being  in  a  position  to  do  away 
ith  either  slavery  or  war.  Constituted  as  the  Roman  empire  was, 
could  not  have  subsisted  a  single  day  without  the  support  of  the 
-vord.  Nor  could  the  social  fabric  have  escaped  a  shock  bordering 
a  collapse,  if  the  custom  of  holding  property  in  man  had  been  sud- 
enly  discontinued.  And,  since  the  Divine  method  of  improvement 
>r  us  is  that  of  enlightened  reform,  not  violent  revolution — the 
volution  of  truth  from  within,  not  the  convulsion  caused  by  power 

£2 


178      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

working  from  without — it  vras  necessary  to  suffer  the  evils  of  war  and 
slavery  to  go  on  afflicting  the  body  politic,  yet  roughly  holding  its  parts 
together,  until  men  should  grow  wise  enough  to  adopt  the  only 
rational  means  of  internal  welding  and  external  defence.  It  would 
be  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose  that  the  Bible  tolerated  these  insti- 
tutions in  the  sense  of  letting  them  alone.  Even  Moses  introduced 
regulations  for  softening  the  hardships  of  slavery  and  abating  the 
horrors  of  war.  And  that  the  word  of  God  is  essentially  opposed  to 
the  enthralling  of  innocent  persons,  and  to  their  wholesale  slaughter 
on  the  field  of  battle,  is  provable,  not  only  from  the  general  tenor  of 
revelation,  and  the  spirit  which  it  fosters,  but  also  by  the  unequivocal 
result  of  Scripture  influence,  when  it  becomes  dominant  and  has 
opportunity  for  full  manifestation.  Christianity  has  already  chased 
slavery  out  of  its  fairest  domains,  and  is  engaged  in  following  up  the 
diabolical  system  to  its  last  retreats.  The  abomination,  as  a  recog- 
nised custom,  will  soon  be  swept  from  the  face  of  the  globe.' 

The  Rev.  T.  T.  Shore,  M.A.,  deals  fully  with  the  attitude  which 
the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  maintains  towards  the  great  question  of 
slavery.  'While  there  were  many  points  in  which  ancient  slavery 
under  the  Greek  and  Roman  governments  was  similar  to  what  has 
existed  in  modern  days,  there  were  also  some  striking  points  of  dif- 
ference. The  slaves  at  such  a  place  as  Corinth  would  have  been 
under  Roman  law,  but  many  of  its  harsher  provisions  would  doubtless 
have  been  practically  modified  by  the  traditional  leniency  of  Greek 
servitude  and  by  general  usage.  .  .  .  Still,  the  master  could  sell  his 
slave  as  he  could  sell  any  other  species  of  property ;  and  such  a  state 
of  things  was  calculated  greatly  to  degrade  both  those  who  trafficked 
and  those  who  were  trafficked  in,  and  was  contrary  to  those  Christian 
principles  which  taught  the  brotherhood  of  men,  and  exalted  every 
living  soul  into  the  high  dignity  of  having  direct  communion  with 
the  Father. 

'  How,  then,  are  we  to  account  for  St.  Paul,  with  his  vivid  realiza- 
tion of  the  brotherhood  of  men  in  Christ,  and  his  righteous  intolerance 
of  intolerance,  never  having  condemned  this  servile  system,  and 
having  here  insisted  on  the  duty  of  a  converted  slave  to  remain  in 
servitude  ? 

'  One  point  which  would  certainly  have  weighed  with  the  Apostle 
in  considering  this  question  was  his  own  belief  in  the  near  approach 
of  the  end  of  this  dispensation.  If  all  existing  relations  would  be 
overthrown  in  a  few  years,  even  such  a  relation  as  was  involved  in 
slavery  would  not  be  of  so  great  importance  as  if  it  had  been  regarded 
as  a  permanent  institution. 


RELATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  SLA  VERY.     1 79 

'  But  there  were  other  grave  considerations  of  a  more  positive  and 
imperative  nature.  If  one  single  word  from  Christian  teaching  could 
have  been  quoted  at  Rome  as  tending  to  excite  the  slaves  to  revolt, 
it  would  have  set  the  Roman  power  in  direct  and  active  hostility  to 
the  new  faith.  Had  St.  Paul's  teaching  led  (as  it  probably  would, 
had  he  urged  the  cessation  of  servitude)  to  a  rising  of  the  slaves, 
that  rising,  and  the  Christian  Church  which  would  have  been  iden- 
tified with  it,  would  have  been  crushed  together.  Rome  could  not 
have  tolerated  a  repetition  of  those  servile  wars  which  had,  twice  in 
the  previous  century,  deluged  Sicily  with  blood. 

'Nor  would  the  danger  of  preaching  the  abolition  of  servitude 
have  been  confined  to  that  arising  from  external  violence  on  the  part, 
of  the  Roman  Government ;  it  would  have  been  pregnant  with  danger 
to  the  purity  of  the  Church  itself.  Many  might  have  been  led,  from 
wrong  motives,  to  join  a  communion  which  would  have  aided  them 
in  securing  their  social  and  political  freedom. 

'  In  these  considerations  we  may  find,  I  think,  ample  reasons  for 
the  position  of  non-interference  which  the  Apostle  maintains  in 
regard  to  slavery.  If  men,  then,  say 'that  Christianity  approved  of 
slavery,  we  would  point  them  to  the  fact  that  it  is  Christianity  that 
has  abolished  it.  Under  a  particular  and  exceptional  condition  of 
circumstances,  which  cannot  again  arise,  St.  Paul,  for  wise  reasons, 
did  not  interfere  with  it.  To  have  done  so  would  have  been  worse 
than  useless.  But  he  taught  fearlessly  those  imperishable  principles 
which  led  in  after-ages  to  its  extinction.  The  object  of  Christianity 
—and  this  St.  Paul  over  and  over  again  insisted  on — was  not  to 
•overturn  and  destroy  existing  political  and  social  institutions,  but  to 
leaven  them  with  new  principles.  He  did  not  propose  to  abolish 
slavery,  but  to  Christianize  it ;  and  when  slavery  is  Christianized,  it 
must  cease  to  exist.  Christianized  slavery  is  liberty.' 


SECTION  If. 

DIFFICULTIES  RELATED  TO  EASTERN  CUSTOMS 
AND  SENTIMENTS. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

IN  no  department  of  Biblical  study  has  so  much  fresh  knowledge  of 
permanent  value  been  obtained  in  recent  years,  as  in  that  of  Bible 
antiquities,  including  the  manners  and  customs  of  Eastern  races. 
Missionaries,  such  as  Thomson  and  Van  Lennep,  resident  for  many 
years  in  Syria  and  Asia  Minor,  and  Egypt,  and  other  related 
countries,  have  carefully  observed  the  daily  habits  and  the  common 
speech  of  the  people,  and  kept  their  records  for  our  use.  Passing 
travellers,  trained  to  notice  all  national  and  geographical  pecularities, 
and  skilled  in  collecting  accurate  information  concerning  the  flora 
and  fauna  of  Bible  lands,  have  given  us  their  very  varied  and  interested 
accounts  ;  and  practised  writers  have  set  all  this  new  material  in  direct 
relation  to  Bible  texts,  so  that  we  have  at  command  a  vast  storehouse 
of  illustration  of  Bible  incidents  and  Bible  expressions,  and  with  their 
help  we  can  often  gain  fresh  and  eminently  satisfactory  explanations 
of  Bible  difficulties. 

As  an  indication  of  the  good  and  helpful  things  that  may  be 
obtained  from  modern  literature,  we  give  one  instance  from  the  Old 
Testament  and  one  from  the  New. 

There  is  a  figure  used  in  Psalm  Ixviii.  13,  which  must  seem  to  a 
Western,  with  ordinary  Western  associations,  as  extravagant,  if  not, 
indeed,  unnatural.  The  words  of  the  passage  are,  '  Though  ye  have 
lien  among  the  pots,  yet  shall  ye  be  as  the  wings  of  a  dove  covered 
with  silver,  and  her  feathers  with  yellow  gold.  But  Miss  Whately, 
in  her  *  Ragged  Life  in  Egypt,'  describing  some  of  the  sights  wit- 
nessed from  the  flat  roofs  of  the  houses  in  Cairo,  says  :  *  The  roofs 


INTROD  UCTOR  Y  NOTE.  1 8 1 

are  usually  in  a  great  state  of  litter,  and  were  it  not  that  Hasna,  the 
seller  of  geeleh,  gets  a  palm-branch  and  makes  a  clearance  once  ir 
a  while,  her  roof  would  assuredly  give  way  under  the  accumulation 
of  rubbish.  One  thing  never  seemed  cleared  away,  however,  and 
that  was  the  heaps  of  old  broken  pitchers,  sherds,  and  pots,  that  in 
these  and  similar  houses  are  piled  up  in  some  corner ;  and  there  is 
a  curious  observation  in  connection  with  this.  A  little  before  sunset, 
numbers  of  pigeons  suddenly  emerge  from  behind  the  pitchers  and 
other  rubbish,  where  they  have  been  sleeping  in  the  heat  of  the  day, 
or  pecking  about  to  find  food.  They  dart  upwards  and  career 
through  the  air  in  large  circles,  their  outspread  wings  catching  the 
bright  glow  of  the  sun's  slanting  rays,  so  that  they  really  resemble 
shining  '  yellow  gold ' ;  then,  as  they  wheel  round,  and  are  seen 
against  the  light,  they  appear  as  if  turned  into  molten  silver,  most  of 
them  being  pure  white  or  very  light-coloured.  This  may  seem 
fanciful,  but  the  effect  of  light  in  these  regions  is  difficult  to  describe 
to  those  who  have  not  seen  it ;  and  evening  after  evening  we  watched 
the  circling  flight  of  the  doves,  and  always  observed  the  same  appear- 
ance. It  was  beautiful  to  see  these  birds,  rising  clean  and  unsoiled, 
as  doves  always  do,  from  the  dust  and  dirt  in  which  they  had  been 
hidden,  and  soaring  aloft  in  the  sky  till  nearly  out  of  sight  among 
the  bright  sunset  clouds.' 

Miss  Agnes  G.  Weld  reminds  us  of  an  Eastern  custom,  which 
very  freshly  and  effectively  illustrates  the  concern  of  the  woman  who 
had  lost  one  of  her  ten  pieces  of  silver.  (See  Luke  xv.  8-10.) 
'  The  women  of  Bethlehem,  and  of  other  parts  of  the  Holy  Land, 
still  wear  a  row  of  coins  sewn  upon  their  head-dress,  and  pendant 
over  their  brows.  And  the  number  of  the  coins  is  very  commonly 
ten,  as  I,  in  common  with  other  travellers,  have  ascertained  by 
counting.  The  custom  reaches  back  far  beyond  the  Christian  era. 
In  all  probability,  therefore,  it  was  not  simply  a  piece  of  silver  which 
was  lost  out  of  her  purse  by  the  woman,  but  one  of  the  ten  precious 
coins  which  formed  her  most  precious  ornament.' 

Miss  Lydia  Von  Finkelstein  improves  upon  this  by  treating  this 
ornament  as  the  distinctive  mark  of  the  married  woman,  and  answer- 
ing, in  the  Eastern  woman's  imagination,  to  our  wedding-ring.  The 
ornament  was  so  constructed  that  if  one  piece  was  lost  the  whole  was 
in  danger  of  falling  apart.  It  might  be  necessary  to  send  it  a  long 
distance,  involving  serious  delay,  to  get  a  new  piece  fitted  ;  and  while 
the  woman  was  without  it,  she  would  be  unable  to  leave  the  house,  or 
•to  receive  visitors,  for  fear  of  being  seen  without  her  sign  of  marriage. 
This  makes  very  reasonable  her  excessive  anxiety  in  searching  for 


i82      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  lost  piece,  and  the  joy  she  is  represented  as  showing  when  the 
piece  was  found.  It  seems  that  this  particular  ornament  was  com- 
monly spoken  of  as  the  '  ten  pieces.' 

In  this  section  of  the  '  Handbook '  only  such  passages  are  dealt 
with  as  present  difficulties  to  thoughtful  readers,  which  may  be 
removed,  or,  at  least,  relieved,  by  some  knowledge  of  ancient  and 
Eastern  manners  and  customs,  or  by  some  aquaintance  with  the  pre- 
vailing sentiments  of  the  Jewish  people  at  some  particular  period  in 
their  history. 

The  cases  that  are  treated  in  this  section  are  to  be  regarded  as 
specimens  of  the  value  and  the  use  of  such  knowledge  of  Eastern  life 
and  thought.  It  would  not  be  possible,  within  reasonable  limits,  to- 
attempt  to  deal  with  all  the  difficulties  which  may  be  included  in 
this  class.  It  will  suffice  if  sufficient  instances  are  given  to  show 
how  the  enlargement  of  our  knowledge  of  Bible  lands  and  times 
at  once  relieves  the  Sacred  Word  of  much  that  has  been  puzzling  and 
almost  incomprehensible,  and  suggests  the  importance,  to  Bible 
readers  and  Christian  teachers,  of  studying  all  books  that  help  to- 
re-create the  scenes  and  interests  and  characters  of  bygone  ages. 
The  Old  Testament,  and  much  also  of  the  New,  can  only  be  read 
aright  with  the  dictionary  help  of  competent  knowledge  of  the  differ- 
ing but  ever-interesting  East. 

One  case  has  recently  come  to  our  knowledge,  in  which  accuracy 
of  knowledge  of  Eastern  custom  puts  new  force  into  a  figure  which 
can  be  illustrated  from  ordinary  everyday  life.  Hosea  (ch.  vii.  8) 
speaks  of  Ephraim  as  *  a  cake  not  turned.'  Dr.  Lansdell>  travelling 
in  Russian  Central  Asia,  records  the  following  :  *  Yakoob  explained 
to  me  how  they  bake  the  bread ;  namely,  by  making  cakes  of  dough 
about  the  size  and  thickness  of  a  captain's  biscuit,  and  then,  clapping 
this  on  the  side  of  the  oven,  where  it  sticks  till  one  side  is  done,  the 
same  process  being  repeated  with  the  other  side.  Hence  a  half- 
hearted person,  as  Ephraim,  is  a  '  cake  not  turned.' 


DIFFICULTIES    RELATED    TO    EASTERN 
CUSTOMS   AND    SENTIMENTS. 


King  Og's  Bedstead. 

DEUTERONOMY  iii.  1 1  :  '  For  only  Og,  King  of  Bashan,  remained  of  the  remnant 
of  giants  ;  behold,  his  bedstead  was  a  bedstead  of  iron  ;  is  it  not  in  Rabbath  of 
the  children  of  Ammon  ?  Nine  cubits  was  the  length  thereof,  and  four  cubits  the 
breadth  of  it,  after  the  cubit  of  a  man.' 

Difficulty. — i.  Are  not  both  the  size  of  the  bedstead  and  its  manu- 
facture of  iron^  so  unreasonable  that  the  narrative  must  be  regarded  as 
legendary  ? 

2.  Hoiv  did  the  bedstead  come  to  be  preserved  in  the  Ammonite  city 
of Rabbath  ? 

Explanation. — There  is  undoubtedly  a  constant  tendency  to 
exaggeration  in  the  reporting  of  things  that  are  only  remembered : 
and  we  find  that  things  with  which  we  had  to  do  in  our  childhood 
seem  in  after-years  bigger  to  us  than  they  actually  were.  We  are 
often  surprised  when  we  can  test  our  imagination,  and  our  memories, 
by  the  reality.  This  no  doubt  applies  in  an  especial  manner  to  such 
stories  of  giants  as  affect  the  young  and  untrained  imagination. 
Making  all  due  allowance  for  such  a  tendency  to  exaggeration,  we 
may  see  what  evidence  there  is  for  the  reasonableness  of  the  figure 
that  is  given  to  us  of  Og  and  his  bedstead. 

There  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  gigantic  race  in 
the  district  with  which  Og  was  associated.  Under  the  name  of 
Rephaim  they  are  mentioned  in  Gen.  xiv.  5;  xv.  20.  But  the 
measurement  of  the  so-called  bedstead  of  Og  does  not  give  us  a 
precise  idea  of  the  size  of  the  man.  Taking  the  cubit  at  the  ordinary 
size,  one  foot  and  a  half,  the  bedstead  was  an  enormous  one — thirteen 
and  a  half  feet  long  and  six  feet  wide.  We  may,  however,  reason- 
ably suppose  that  it  was  much  longer  and  wider  than  the  body,  and 


184      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

perhaps  was  purposely  made  to  produce  an  exaggerated  impression 
of  Og's  size,  as  Leclerc  tells  us  that  Alexander  the  Great  had  the 
beds  of  his  foot-soldiers  made  larger  than  was  necessary,  in  order  to 
impress  the  Indians  with  an  idea  of  the  extraordinary  strength  and 
stature  of  his  men.  ( 

The  true  explanation  of  the  passage  appears  to  be  that  it  was  the 
sarcophagus,  and  not  the  bedstead,  of  Og  which  is  referred  to.  He 
was  buried  in  an  immense  block  of  black  basalt,  a  substance  which 
the  Arabs  still  call  iron,  because  it  contained  a  large  percentage  of  iron. 
A  man  whose  actual  stature  was  from  eight  to  ten  feet  might  very 
reasonably  have  a  sarcophagus  of  fourteen  feet  length.  Napoleon  III. 
is  buried  in  a  solid  block  of  granite,  which  is  not  less  than  ten  feet 
long ;  and  Squire  Eeckford,  of  Fonthill  fame,  lies  in  a  similar  size 
block  at  the  Lansdown  Cemetery,  Bath  ;  but  both  these  were  men 
of  quite  ordinary  height.  Sir  J.  Chardin  and  other  travellers  have 
observed  the  ancient  tendency  to  make  mummies  and  tombs  far 
larger  than  the  natural  size  of  men,  in  order  to  leave  an  impression 
of  wonder. 

Kitto  elaborately  explains  the  ancient  use  of  bedsteads  made  of 
metal ;  but  as  the  original  terrr.c,  eres  barzel,  may  without  question 
be  rendered  *  a  sarcophagus  of  basalt,'  we  may  accept  this  very  simple 
and  satisfactory  solution  of  the  difficulty. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  account  for  the  preservation  of  the  sarco- 
phagus at  Rabbath.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Og,  when  wounded  in 
battle,  fled,  and  found  shelter  in  Rabbath ;  there  he  died,  and  was 
buried  in  an  honourable  way,  as  a  great  king.  The  report  of  the 
immense  size  of  his  sarcophagus  might  very  readily  have  come  to 
the  ears  of  the  Israelites,  and  it  would  impress  them  with  the 
importance  of  the  victory  they  had  won  over  so  mighty  a  giant  and 
so  great  a  king. 

The  Speaker  s  Commentary  remarks  that  *  modern  travellers  have 
discovered  in  the  territories  of  Og  sarcophagi  as  well  as  many  other 
articles  made  of  the  black  basal*-  of  the  country.' 

The   Divine  Origin  of  Circumcision. 

GENESIS  xvii.  10 :  '  This  is  My  covenant,  which  ye  shall  keep,  between  Me 
and  you  and  thy  seed  after  thee  :  Every  man  child  among  you  shall  be  circum- 
cised.' 

Question. — Are  there  not  proofs  of  the  adoption  of  this  rite  by 
other  nations  beside  the  Hebrews,  and  independently  of  them  t 

Answer. — There  are  reasonably  good  grounds  for  admitting  the 
use  of  this  custom  quite  apart  from  the  special  injunction  to  Abra- 


THE  DIVINE  ORIGIN  OF  CIRCUMCISION.       185 

ham  ;  but  this  may  be  freely  admitted,  if  we  properly  apprehend  the 
Divine  purpose  in  making  it  the  sign  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant. 

In  a  note  to  his  interesting  work,  Hours  with  the  Bible,  vol.  i., 
p.  344,  Dr.  Cunningham  Geikie  gathers  up  the  facts  and  arguments 
on  this  point.  '  Wilkinson  has  found  proof  of  the  practice  of  cir- 
cumcision in  Egypt  as  early  as  the  fourth  dynasty,  that  is  long  before 
Abraham  (vol.  v.,  p.  318).  There  is  also  an  instructive  painting  of 
the  time  of  the  oppression  of  the  Jews  in  Egypt,  showing  the  mode  of 
performing  the  rite.  Nearly  all  mummies,  moreover,  are  circum- 
cised (EberSy  p.  233).  The  Jews  circumcise  on  the  eighth  day  ;  the 
Mahometans,  properly  on  the  thirteenth  year,  as  the  time  when 
Ishmael  was  circumcised.  The  rite  has  been  found  widely  practised 
where  it  might  have  been  least  expected,  among  the  negroes  of  the 
Congo  and  many  African  tribes,  including  the  Caffres ;  and  also  in 
the  Fiji  Islands,  among  the  Indians  of  Central  America,  the  ancient 
Mexicans,  and  other  Indian  races.  Curiously,  the  Speaker's  Com- 
mentary (vol.  i.,  p.  122)  and  Land  and  the  Book  (p.  590),  not  knowing 
the  evidence  of  the  Egyptian  monuments,  suppose  that  the  priests  of 
Pharaoh  learned  about  circumcision  from  Joseph.  The  remark  of 
Michaelis  is  acute,  that  if  Abraham  had  not  already  known  about  it, 
more  minute  directions  would  have  been  given  him.  Ebers  (p.  233) 
says  that  in  Egypt,  as  among  the  Hebrews,  "  uncircumcised  "  was 
equal  to  "  unclean  "  ;  "  circumcised,"  to  "  clean  "  or  "  pure." 

The  testimony  of  Herodotus  is  important,  but  his  statements  are 
somewhat  loose  and  unsatisfactory.  He  says  that  the  Egyptians  and 
Ethiopians  had  circumcision  from  the  most  remote  antiquity,  so  that 
he  cannot  tell  which  had  it  first ;  he  mentions  the  Colchians  as  also 
using  it,  and  says  that  the  Phoenicians  and  Syrians  in  Palestine 
admit  that  they  *  learned  this  practice  from  the  Egyptians ' 
(Herod,  ii.  104).  It  is.  however,  difficult  to  recognise  precisely  who 
Herodotus  refers  to  as  the  Syrians  and  Phoenicians. 

Effort  has  been  made  to  show  that  all  other  nations  may  have 
derived  the  rite,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  the  Jews  ;  but  this  cannot 
be  sustained.  It  is  most  unlikely  that  other  nations  would  allow  such 
an  insignificant  nation  as  that  of  the  Jews  to  teach  them  any  rites ; 
certainly  not  any  so  offensive  and  so  painful  as  this  one.  And  the 
historical  facts  plainly  intimate  that  an  existent  custom  was  divinely 
enjoined  upon  the  Jews,  with  a  view  to  the  associations  in  which  as 
a  nation  they  were  to  be  placed. 

For  the  Hebrew  circumcision  was  not  designed  to  separate  God's 
people  from  the  Egyptians,  but  from  the  Canaanites,  among  whom 
Abraham  dwelt  at  the  time  of  institution,  and  whose  country  Israel 


186      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

was  ultimately  to  possess.  We  have  sufficient  evidence  that  the 
Canaanite  nations  were  not  circumcised.  '  One  tribe  of  Canaanites, 
the  Hivites,  were  uncircumcised,  as  appears  from  the  story  of  Hamor 
and  Shechem  (Gen.  xxxiv.).  To  the  Philistines  the  epithet  "uncir- 
cumcised "  is  constantly  applied.  From  the  great  unwillingness  of 
Zipporah  to  allow  her  son  to  be  circumcised  (Ex.  iv.  25),  it  would 
seem  that  the  Midianites,  though  descended  from  Abraham  by 
Keturah  (Gen.  xxv.  2),  did  not  practise  the  rite.'  (Smith's  Bib. 
Diet.) 

The  idea  that  the  Hebrew  custom  was  borrowed  from  the 
Egyptians  is  said  by  F.  W.  Newman,  in  Kittds  Cydopcedia,  to  have 
given  much  offence ;  but  he  wisely  adds  :  '  In  truth  the  question 
involves  no  peculiar  difficulty ;  it  is  only  part  of  another  far  wider 
inquiry.  It  is  notorious  that  many  other  ancient  nations  had  various 
ceremonies  and  institutions  in  common  with  the  Jews,  and  that  the 
Hebrew  law  is  by  no  means  in  all  points  original.  That  sacrifice 
pre-existed  is  on  the  surface  of  the  Bible  history.  The  same,  how- 
ever, is  true  of  temples,  tabernacles,  priests,  ever-burning  fire,  oracles, 
etc.  The  fact  has  often  been  denoted  by  saying  that  the  Jewish 
institutions  are  a  selection,  revision,  and  re-enactment  of  an  older 
patriarchal  religion.' 

The  analogy  of  the  bow  in  the  cloud,  existent  before,  but  consti- 
tuted a  divine  sign  and  suggestion  to  Noah,  may  be  applied  to  cir- 
cumcision as  enjoined  on  Abraham. 

A  brief  explanation  of  the  religious  significance  of  the  rite  to  the 
Hebrews  may  be  added.  '  To  Abraham  and  his  posterity  circum- 
cision was  an  abiding  sign  of  consecration  to  God,  and  of  admission 
into  the  congregation  of  Jehovah.  The  nations  around  them  had 
their  distinctive  forms  of  dedication  to  their  idols,  in  the  fanciful 
trimming  of  their  beards  and  hair,  forbidden  so  strictly  to  the  Jews 
(Lev.  xix.  27),  and  in  the  tattooing  the  sign  of  a  god  on  the  brow,  the 
arm,  or  the  hand,  as  is  still  common  in  the  East.  But  circumcision 
was  much  more  than  this,  for  it  presented  the  child  or  the  man  as 
an  offering  to  God — a  part  of  the  body  standing  for  the  whole — and 
tacitly  owned  that  even  life  was  rightfully  His,  though  redeemed  by 
so  slight  and  typical  a  substitution.  And  though  in  later  ages  a 
mark  of  division  and  narrowness,  in  the  tents  of  the  early  Hebrews 
it  was  only  a  much-needed  and  abiding  badge  of  separation  from  the 
degenerate  races  amidst  which  they  lived,  and  of  consecration  to 
Jehovah.'  (Dr.  C.  Geikie.) 


BORING  A  SERVANTS  EAR.  187 

Boring  a  Servant's  Ear. 

EXODUS  xxi.  5,  6  :  'And  if  the  servant  shall  plainly  say,  I  love  my  master,  iry 
wife,  and  my  children  :  I  will  not  go  free :  then  his  master  shall  bring  him  unto 
the  judges  ;  he  shall  also  bring  him  to  the  door,  or  unto  the  door  post :  and  his 
master  shall  bore  his  ear  through  with  an  awl ;  and  he  shall  serve  him  for  ever.' 
(See  also  Deut.  xv.  17.) 

Difficulty. —  Was  not  this  x  cruel  and  degrading  custom,  unworthy 
of  the  Mosaic  system  ? 

Explanation. — The  cartilage  of  the  ear  can  be  bored  without 
occasioning  suffering.  And  the  practice  of  boring  the  ear  as  a  mark 
of  slavery  is  not  peculiar  to  Mosaism  ;  it  was  quite  a  common  one  ki 
ancient  times,  and  observed  in  many  nations. 

The  arrangement  was  made  by  Moses  rather  in  the  interests  of  the 
servants  than  of  the  masters.  A  master  might  forcibly  detain  a 
servant,  demand  his  life-long  service ;  and  if  no  public  ratification  of 
bargains  had  been  required,  such  a  servant  would  have  had  no  redress. 
Some  public  act,  and  well-recognised  mark,  secured  the  rights  of  the 
servants.  The  law  said  that  no  servant  could  be  retained  over  six 
years  (ver.  2),  unless  a  public  ceremony  took  place  before  the  recog- 
nised officials  in  the  city  gate,  where  there  would  be  many  witnesses,, 
and  at  that  ceremony  a  permanent  mark  was  made  on  the  servant, 
by  his  consent,  and  by  the  master's  hand.  Whether  service  so 
secured  lasted  only  until  the  jubilee  year,  or  for  the  man's  whole  life, 
does  not  appear  from  the  context. 

It  should  be  remembered  that,  in  those  days,  there  were  no  legal 
written  documents,  and  therefore  all  legal  proceedings  were  con- 
ducted publicly  before  witnesses,  as  is  illustrated  in  the  negotiations 
of  Boaz  (Ruth  iv.  1-12). 

An  interesting  illustration  of  marking  ownership  by  the  boring  of 
the  ear  may  be  met  with  on  Dartmoor.  The  cattle  from  the  neigh- 
bouring farms  are  sent,  at  certain  seasons,  to  graze  on  the  open 
unfenced  moorlands.  There  they  are  placed  in  the  charge  of  certain 
herdmen,  who  receive  a  tax  for  each  animal,  and,  on  receipt  of  the 
tax-money,  bore  the  ear  of  the  animal,  inserting,  and  fastening  to  the 
ear,  a  strand  of  wool.  On  certain  occasions  all  the  cattle  are  driven 
together  into  an  enclosed  space  or  pound ;  there  they  are  examined, 
and  all  found  without  the  mark  in  the  ear  are  charged  with  the  tax. 

Another  illustration  of  sealing  service  by  a  ceremony  may  be  found 
in  the  recruit's  public  reception  of  a  shilling  from  the  recruiting  sergeant. 

The  Psalmist  uses  this  requirement  of  the  ancient  law  as  a  figure 
"or  entire  life-devotion  to  the  service  oi  God.  It  may  even  express 
:he  full  consecration  of  Messiah  to  His  Father's  will.  (See  Psalm 
d  6;  Heb.  x.  5.) 


1 83      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
Bind  the  Sacrifice  to  the  Horns. 

Ps\LM  cxviii.  27  :  '  Bind  the  sacrifice  with  cords,  even  unto  the  horns  of  t 
altar.' 

Question. — Does  this  require  something  fresh,  or  is  there  a  reft 
ence  to  some  ordinary  custom  ? 

Answer. — The  verse  is  differently  translated  by  Luther,  Tholuc 
and  others,  who  render  '  adorn  the  feast  with  leaves,'  or  *  bind  on  tl 
feast-day  branches,'  as  was  usual  on  the  feast  of  Tabernacles  (Le 
xxiii.  40).  It  may  be  observed  that  the  heathen  used  to  strew  the 
altars  with  green  herbs  and  flowers,  particularly  vervain.  The  be 
authorities,  however,  support  the  common  interpretation ;  but  tl 
meaning  of  the  passage  is  variously  given. 

Speakers  Commentary :  l  Bind  the  victim  with  cords,  and  lei 
it  to  the  altar,  to  the  very  horns,  to  one  of  which  the  victim  w 
fastened.' 

Ainsworth :  4  Unto  the  horns,  /.*.,  all  the  court  over  until  yc 
come  even  to  the  horns^.  of  the  altar,  intending  hereby  many  sac: 
fices  or  boughs.' 

Delitzsch  thinks  the  sacrifices  were,  on  this  occasion,  so  many  th 
they  were  tied  up  all  over  the  priests'  court,  right  up  to  the  horns 
the  altar.    The  psalm  was  composed  for  the  dedication  of  the  Secor 
Temple. 

Matthew  Henry  says  :  *  Bind  the  sacrifice  with  cords,  that,  beir 
killed,  the  blood  of  it  may  be  sprinkled  upon  the  horns  of  the  alta 
according  to  the  law ;  or  perhaps  it  was  the  custom  (though  we  res 
not  of  it  elsewhere)  to  bind  the  sacrifice  to  the  horns  of  the  alta 
while  things  were  getting  ready  for  the  slaying  of  it.' 

Jennings  and  Lowe  say  :  *  "  Unto  the  horns  "  should  be  "  as  far  as 
What  is  meant  by  binding  the  sacrificial  victim  as  far  as  the  alta 
horns  is  uncertain.  The  altar  in  Herod's  Temple  had,  according  t 
the  Mishnah,  a  number  of  brazen  rings  on  the  north  side,  to  whic 
the  animals  were  secured.  Presuming  that  such  rings  were  arrange 
one  above  another  up  to  the  projecting  horns  on  the  summit  of  tfc 
altar,  we  might  interpret  this  passage  to  mean  that  all  oi"  them,  froi 
the  lowest  upward,  would  have  to  be  employed  by  reason  of  th 
multitude  of  victims.  But  we  do  not  know  that  there  were  sue 
rings  on  the  altar  of  Zerubbabel's  Temple.' 

Perhaps  Bishop  Wordsworth  finds  the  most  probable  explanatio 
of  the  passage.  *  The  Hebrew  word  chag,  translated  sacrifice,  literail 
means  a  feast-day.  Probably  the  word  is  adopted  here,  because  th 
•expression  is  a  figurative  one.  We  do  not  hear  that  the  sacrifice 


THE  USE  OF  THE  EPHOD.  189 

re  bound  literally  to  the  horns  of  the  altar,  on  which  the  blood 
s  sprinkled  (Ex.  xxix.  16;  Lev.  iv.  7  ;  viii.  15  ;  ix.  9).  Nor  does 
appear  to  have  been  possible  that  the  immense  number  of  victims 
ered  on  the  day  of  dedication  (see  Ezra  vi.  17)  could  have  been 
bound.  The  Targum,  indeed,  explains  the  words  as  meaning, 
Bring  the  sacrifice  bound  until  it  arrives  at  the  horns  of  the  altar." 
it  the  sense  seems  to  be :  Bind  the  festival  of  dedication  to  the 
ar  of  God — that  is,  Let  the  joys  of  all  Israelites  be  concentrated  as 

1  joys  of  one  man  in  a  great  national  act  of  thankful  communion 
d  self-consecration  to  God.     Let  the  people  of  God  be  no  more 
)arated  from  one  another  by  schism,  as  they  were  by  the  severance 
Israel  from  Judah ;  let  them  no  more  be  scattered,  as  they  were  in 
;  Assyrian  and  Babylonish  captivity ;  but  let  them  all  be  bound  to 
e  centre  of  unity — the  altar  of  God.' 

In  view  of  this  explanation  of  the  expression  as  a  figurative  one, 
ire  is  no  need  for  inquiries  concerning  ancient  customs  of  binding 
:rifices  to  altars,  or  for  the  assumption  that  any  new  practice  was 
joined.  The  passage  is  best  treated  as  a  poetical  figure. 

The  Use  of  the  Ephod. 

EXODUS  xxviti.  6,  7  :  '  And  they  shall  make  the  ephod  of  gold,  of  blue,  and  of 
pie,  of  scarlet,  and  fine  twined  linen,  with  cunning  work.  It  shall  have  the 

>  shoulderpieces  thereof  joined  at  the  two  edges  thereof,  and  so  shall  it  be 
led  together.' 

Difficulty. — In  the  use  of  the  Ephod  was  not  miraculous  virtue 

ached  to  a  thing  ? 

Explanation. — The  Ephod  consisted  of  two  pieces  of  cloth, 

2  for  the  back,  and  the  other  for  the  front,  joined  together  by 
>ulder-straps.     Below  the  arms,  probably  just  above  the  hips,  the 

>  pieces  were  kept  in  place  by  a  band  attached  to  one  of  the 
ces. 

Ewald  very  carefully  describes  the  Ephod,  and  suggests  both  the 
)ng  and  the  right  uses  to  which  it  was  put.  Writing  of  the  high 
est's  robe,  he  adds  :  'Over  this  long  robe  a  short  covering  for  the 
mlders  was  worn,  and  this  was  the  first  thing  which  was  distinc- 
tly sacerdotal.  It  was  a  sort  of  short  mantle,  termed  an  Ephod — 
lame  which  originally  signified  the  same  as  mantle  or  covering- 
th,  but  which  now  occurs  only  in  a  sacerdotal  sense.  It  simply 
isisted  of  two  shoulder-flaps,  i.e.,  of  cloth,  without  sleeves,  which 
'ered  little  more  than  the  two  shoulders,  and  did  not  hang  down 
ch  below  them  either  before  or  behind.  It  simply  surmounted, 
j  an  ornament,  the  long  robe,  from  which  it  seemed  almost  in- 


190     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

separable.  The  two  pieces  of  which  it  consisted,  however,  were  no 
separated  somewhere  under  the  shoulders,  but  on  the  breast  anc 
back.  At  the  top,  the  ends  were  only  slightly  connected  together 
Below,  however,  they  were  held  together  by  a  girdle,  which  was 
certainly  very  broad,  and  a  main  feature  of  the  attire,  and  withou 
which  the  state  covering  would  not  be  assumed.  It  was  different  ir 
kind  from  the  girdle  of  the  plain  costume,  and  bore  quite  anothei 
name ;  it  certainly  had  not  the  hanging  ends,  and  resembled  rathei 
a  mere  broad  band.  A  covering  for  the  shoulders  such  as  this  migrr 
also  be  worn  by  other  priests  .  .  .  any  priest,  or  even  any  mar 
invested  with  sacerdotal  dignity,  might  wear  on  his  shoulders  such  i 
garment  made  of  plain  linen.  Somewhere  about  the  middle,  on  ttu 
front  side  of  this  covering  for  the  shoulders,  was  attached  the  ba£ 
which  in  later  times  has  become  the  least  comprehensible  article  of  tru 
high  priest's  adornment.  This  bag  was  the  receptacle  of  the  Urirr 
and  Thummim.  .  .  .  We  know,  from  the  early  days  when  the  oracl( 
•of  the  high  priest  was  in  great  repute,  not  only  that  the  lot  was  usec 
to  finally  settle  disputes,  but  that  it  was  regarded  as  something 
dependent  on  heavenly  influence.  Probably  two  or  three  pebbles  o 
different  colours  were  shaken  as  lots  in  the  "  bosom,"  or  bag,  and  one 
of  them  drawn  out.' 

Eivald  helps  us  to  understand  the  Hebrew  associations  of  th( 
Ephod  by  his  account  of  the  Teraphim,  or  household  images.  These 
domestic  deities  were  employed  from  the  earliest  times  to  furnisr 
oracles,  so  that  the  word  Teraphim  is  absolutely  identical  witl 
oracular  divinity.  For  this  purpose  the  first  addition  to  the  image 
was  an  ephod,  i.e.,  a  magnificent  robe  put  over  the  shoulders 
having  on  its  breast  a  casket  containing  the  lots  employed  in  deter 
mining  the  oracle.  In  the  second  place,  a  kind  of  mask  was  placec 
over  the  head  of  the  image,  in  which  the  priest  who  was  seeking  tru 
oracle  probably  had  to  perceive  by  sundry  tokens  whether  the  goc 
was  willing  or  not  to  give  an  oracle  at  all  at  that  particular  time 
These  masks  alone  made  the  image  properly  complete,  and  frorr 
them  the  divinities  received  their  name  of  Teraphim.' 

The  passages  in  which  the  use  of  the  Ephod  needs  particular  ex 
planation  are  the  following  : — Judges  viii.  27,  which  narrates  Gideon'* 
making  of  an  ephod,  but  which  evidently  means  an  image  clothec 
with  an  ephod.  Judges  xvii.  5,  which  says  :  '  The  man  Micah  hac 
an  house  of  gods,  and  made  an  ephod  and  teraphim,  and  consecratec 
one  of  his  sons,  who  became  his  priest.'  Here  the  ephod  is  clearl) 
the  equivalent  of  oracle.  And  i  Sam.  xxiii.  9,  which  tells  of  Davic 
calling  upon  Abiathar  to  *  bring  hither  the  ephod,'  evidently  that  he 


NEBUCHADNEZZAR  S  DREAM.  191 

might  inquire  of  it,  as  of  an  oracle.  Sometimes  *  those  that  wear  the 
cphod '  is  employed  as  a  figure  for  the  priestly,  or  consecrated,  class. 
It  appears  that  in  this  God  graciously  met  the  common  notions 
•concerning  oracles,  as  modes  of  communicating  the  Divine  will,  but 
put  the  oracular  power  into  strict  conditions,  confining  it  to  the  high 
priest,  and  to  him  as  fully  arrayed  in  his  sacerdotal  garments.  Com- 
pare, for  illustration,  the  notion  of  the  Pope's  infallibility,  ex  cathedra. 

Nebuchadnezzar's  Dream. 

DANIEL  ii.  31  :  '  Thou,  O  king,  sawest.  and  behold  a  great  image.  This  great 
image,  whose  brightness  was  excellent,  stood  before  thee ;  and  the  form  thereof 
was  terrible.' 

Question. — On  what  principle  of  interpretation  can  this  image  be 
explained? 

Answer. — The  first  endeavour  must  be  to  understand  it  as  a 
Divine  communication  made  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  bearing  direct 
relation  to  himself  and  to  his  kingdom.  Through  the  first  and 
immediate  purpose  of  a  prophetic  revelation  alone  can  we  hope 
to  apprehend  its  final  and  more  spiritual  applications. 

Rule  vigorously  describes  the  figure  which  Nebuchadnezzar  saw, 
4  Imagine  the  colossus  towering  erect  and  high,  not  in  a  temple,  but 
in  an  open  field.  The  torso  would  be  firmly  upright,  the  arms  close 
to  the  sides,  with  the  forearms  laid  on  the  thighs  closed  together,  and 
the  hands  resting  on  the  knees.  The  throne  would  be  a  solid  block 
of  iron  or  stone.  The  legs  close  or  very  near  together,  so  as  to  be 
in  one  piece  of  iron,  and  the  feet  of  iron  and  iron  mixed  with  clay. 
There  was  a  solemn  air  of  united  strength  and  majesty  which  no 
figure  less  compactly  seated  could  present.3 

To  Nebuchadnezzar,  with  his  extravagant  notions  of  the  grandeur 
and  stability  of  the  kingdom  of  which  he  was  the  head,  the  vision  was 
a  solemn  warning,  and  an  assertion  of  the  superior  authority  and 
power  of  the  Most  High  God,  who  removes  nations  at  His  pleasure. 
We  can  see  three  things  which  would  impress  the  mind  of  the  king. 
i.  It  was  then  usual  to  symbolize  the  power  of  nations  by  a  human 
figure ;  so  the  image  would  represent  the  Babylonian  Empire.  2. 
The  succession  of  ages  was  represented  by  different  metals,  regarded 
as  characteristic  of  the  genius  or  temper  of  the  age ;  so  Nebuchad- 
nezzar could  understand  that  the  immediately  succeeding  dynasties  were 
referred  to,  and  he  must  have  been  depressed  by  the  evident  coming 
deterioration  of  the  empire  down  to  clay.  But  (3)  the  point  of  his 
trouble  was  the  speedy  destruction  of  the  empire  by  some  influence, 
which  was  figured  as  a  sione.  •  This  would  be,  to  a  Babylonian,  sym- 


i92      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

bolical  of  a  destruction  by  that  which  was,  to  him,  indestructible. 
Every  edifice,  palace,  and  temple  was  almost  entirely  built  of  brick ; 
stone  was  rare.  Costly  and  magnificent  as  the  buildings  were,  yet 
from  the  very  nature  of  their  materials  they  could  make  but  little 
resistance  to  time  and  force.  So  this  image,  composed  of  composite 
elements,  could  make  no  stand  against  that  indestructible  power 
which  '  smote  to  pieces.' 

When  the  first  reference  to  Nebuchadnezzar  is  firmly  and  clearly 
fixed,  and  the  Divine  purpose  to  assert  the  Divine  superiority  and 
absolute  rule  over  all  nations  is  recognised,  some  attempt  may  be 
made  to  associate  the  history  of  the  times  with  the  parts  of  the 
figure.  It  is  only  necessary  to  remark  that,  in  too  minutely  fixing 
prophetic  details,  the  great  primary  objects  of  prophetic  vision  are 
too  often  missed.  We  need  to  learn,  in  a  thousand  varied  forms,  the 
lesson  here  taught  the  Babylonian  king — that  no  man,  and  no  nation, 
can  ever  lift  itself  above,  or  swing  itself  free  from,  the  control  of  the 
Most  High  God.  The  stone  made  without  hands  smashes  to  destruc- 
tion all  earthly  creations  that  only  declare  the  glory  of  man. 

Offering  Strange  Fire. 

LEVITICUS  x.  I  :  'And  Nadab  and  Abihu,  the  sons  of  Aaron,  took  either  of 
them  his  censer,  and  put  fire  therein,  and  put  incense  thereon,  and  offered  strange 
fire  before  the  Lord,  which  He  commanded  them  not.' 

Difficulty. — Precisely  in  what  did  the  sin  of  these  young  priests 
consist  ? 

Explanation. — For  the  laws  relating  to  the  fire  used  for  kindling 
incense,  etc.,  see  Exod.  xxx.  7-9  ;  Lev.  i.  7  ;  vi.  12  ;  ix.  24 ;  xvi.  12. 
The  following  suggestions  have  been  made  : — i.  The  fire  used  by  the 
young  priests  was  not  taken  from  the  altar.  2.  The  incense  they  used 
was  not  mixed  according  to  the  law  given  in  Exod.  xxx.  34-38. 
3.  The  incense  was  offered  at  unusual  and  unauthorized  times.  4. 
The  young  priests  had  lost  their  self-control  through  indulgence  in 
drink.  This  suggestion  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  counsels  respect- 
ing the  priests'  use  of  wine  follow  immediately  upon  the  narration  of 
this  incident,  as  if  they  had  been  suggested  by  it.  5.  Jamieson  thinks 
it  involved  their  going  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  this  only  the 
high  priest  might  do.  6.  Bishop  Wordsworth  says  :  *  They  were 
exalted  above  measure,  and  tried  to  free  themselves  from  the  ordinary 
rules  of  the  priesthood ;  and  possibly  their  self-willed  conduct  was  due 
to  the  excitation  of  wine.' 

Help  towards  an  understanding  of  the  incident  may  be  found  by 
comparing  it  with  two  cases  occurring  in  later  periods.  When  David 


OFFERING  STRANGE  FIRE.  193 

made  a  first  attempt  to  bring  up  the  ark  to  Jerusalem  from  the  house 
of  Obed-Edom,  Uzzah  paid  the  penalty  for  failure  in  precise  obedience 
to  the  details  of  Divine  command,  and  was  suddenly  smitten,  to 
warn  David  and  his  people  that  it  can  never  be  acceptable  to  God 
for  us  to  obey  Him  in  our  way.  We  must  obey  Him  in  His  way, 
and  with  exact  and  minute  observance  of  His  instructions. 

The  other  case  is  that  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  who  were  within 
their  rights  in  their  mere  act,  but  were  wrong  in  heart,  motive,  and 
purpose,  and  paid  the  penalty  which  surely  follows  upon  self-willed- 
ness  and  insincerity. 

Uzzah,  and  Ananias  with  Sapphira,  perished  partly  on  account  of 
their  sin,  but  partly  also  as  a  solemn  public  warning  of  the  Davidic 
and  the  early  Christian  Churches ;  and  the  same  appears  to  be  true  of 
Nadab  and  Abihu.  They  were  smitten  for  their  sin,  but  they  were 
also  smitten,  as  is  pointed  out  in  verse  3,  in  order  that,  before  all  the 
people,  God  might  be  glorified ;  as  a  sense  of  His  demand  for  careful 
tind  precise  obedience  rested  upon  them. 

There  are  no  materials  given  us  for  a  certain  decision  concerning 
the  formal  act  ot  sin  in  Nadab's  case.  The  explanations  offered  are, 
at  best,  but  guesses.  We  may  be  satisfied  to  know  that  it  was  some 
evident  informality,  some  failure  to  observe  the  authorised  details  of 
ritual. 

We  can  clearly  see  that,  whether  from  the  excitement  of  a  long 
and  anxious  public  day,  or  from  a  too  free  use  of  wine,  the  young 
men  yielded  to  the  temptation  to  self-importance  and  self-will.  They 
set  what  they  thought  best  over  against  what  God  had  commanded. 
Whatever  their  particular  act  was,  it  revealed  their  spirit.  They  were 
failing  from  the  simple,  trustful,  unquestioning  obedience  which  was 
pledged  in  the  Covenant.  And  their  failure  was  so  much  the  worse 
because  they  were  set  in  prominent  positions,  and  should  have  been 
examples.  Their  act  dishonoured  Jehovah  before  the  people,  and  a 
solemn  vindication  of  God's  claim  to  absolute  obedience  became 
necessary. 

The  record  has  been  kept  to  carry  this  lesson  to  us :  Good  moral 
training  of  men  or  of  children  involves  strong  dealing  with  the  first 
and  smallest  defections  from  perfect  obedience.  Neither  God  nor  they 
Tvho,  in  their  authority,  ought  to  be  like  Him,  can  safely  pass  by  wilful 
disobedience  in  little  things. 


T94      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


The  Den  of  Lions. 

DANIEL  vi.  16  :  '  Then  the  king  commanded,  and  they  brought  Daniel,  anc 
cast  him  into  the  den  of  lions.' 

Question. — Are  there  any  evidences,  in  Babylonish  history,  of  t Jit 
custom  of  keeping  lions  ? 

Answer. — Layard  says  that  in  Babylonia  the  lion  was  and  still. 
is  common  (Nineveh  and  Babylon,  pp.  136,  271,  288);  and  pro 
bably  many  were  kept  in  dens  in  the  parks  or  preserves  attached  to 
the  royal  palaces.  Smith's  Biblical  Dictionary  says,  '  The  kings  ol 
Persia  had  a  menagerie  of  lions.  When  captured  alive  they  were  put 
in  a  cage  (Ezek.  xix.  9),  but  it  does  not  appear  that  they  were  tamed. 
In  the  hunting  scenes  at  Beni-Hassan  tame  lions  are  represented  as 
used  in  hunting  (Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egypt,  iii.  17).  On  the  bas- 
reliefs  at  Kouyunjik  a  lion  led  by  a  chain  is  among  the  presents 
brought  by  the  conquered  to  their  victors  (Layard,  Nineveh  ana 
Babylon,  p.  138). 

Kitto  speaks  of  the  punishment  of  casting  into  the  lions'  den  as  being 
unique,  so  far  as  we  know,  and  found  only  in  Babylon.  He  adds, 
'  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  only  piece  of  Oriental  antiquity  in  which 
anything  like  a  lions'  den  appears,  is  in  a  coin  of  Babylon.  One  oi 
the  very  few  pieces  of  sculpture  found  at  Babylon,  however,  repre- 
sents a  lion  standing  over  the  prostrate  body  of  a  man.  An  engraved 
den  also  represents  a  man  combating  with  or  subduing  two  lions ;  and 
at  Shus  (Susa),  not  far  from  the  tomb  of  Daniel,  a  bas-relief  has  been 
found,  representing  two  lions,  each  with  a  paw  upon  the  head  of  a 
man  half-naked,  with  his  hands  bound  behind  him.'  *  The  region  of 
the  Lower  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris  is  now  the  most  westerly  part  of 
Asia  in  which  lions  remain.  We,  indeed,  never  saw  one  ourselves, 
but  we  have  conversed  with  those  who  did ;  and  we  have  seen  the 
tracts  of  their  feet ;  have  been  at  the  mouths  of  their  dens,  formed  in 
the  mounds  of  ancient  ruins  of  the  age  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and 
strewed  all  around  with  the  bones  and  portions  of  the  hides  of  sheep, 
camels,  and  other  animals ;  and  we  have  been  present  where  their 
roars  were  heard.' 

No  precise  description  of  the  dens  in  which  lions  were  kept  can  be 
obtained,  but  a  general  idea  can  be  obtained  from  the  following  des- 
cription of  a  lions'  den  at  Fez,  in  Morocco,  into  which  Jews  and 
State  prisoners  were  often  thrown.  'The  lions'  den  was  a  large 
quadrangular  hole  in  the  ground,  divided  by  a  partition  into  two 
chambers.  This  partition  has  a  door,  which  can  be  opened  and  shut 


1HE  DEN  OF  LIONS.  195 

from  above.  The  keepers  of  the  lions  throw  food  into  the  one  divi- 
sion, and  so  entice  the  lions  thither ;  then  they  shut  the  door  from 
above,  and  clean  the  other  division.  The  whole  is  under  the  open 
sky,  and  is  only  encircled  with  a  wall,  over  which  people  can  look 
down  and  in.  The  Sultan  sometimes  has  men  cast  in.' 

Possibly,  if  the  den  was  of  this  kind,  the  sealed  stone  which  was 
set  up  may  have  been  placed  before  the  usual  entrance  of  the 
keepers.  Their  way  of  entrance  might  otherwise  have  been  Daniel's 
way  of  escape. 

An  interesting  proof  that  lion-hunting  was  a  royal  sport  in  Assyria 
is  given  by  the  late  Mr.  George  Smith,  who  visited  the  Louvre,  and 
examined  the  Assyrian  collection  there.  He  writes :  *  In  the 
Assyrian  hall,  guarded  by  the  great  winged  bulls  at  either  entrance, 
are  also  some  sculptures  of  Assur-bani-pal — the  Sardanapalus  of  the 
Greeks.  One  of  them  exhibits  an  adventure  which  happened  to  him 
when  hunting.  The  monarch  and  his  attendants  had  gone  forth  in 
chase  of  the  king  of  beasts,  when — probably  while  they  were  beat- 
ing for  their  game — a  lion  rushed  out  of  the  cover,  and  sprang 
toward  the  king.  Assur-bani-pal,  who  had  dismounted,  met  the 
enraged  animal  single-handed,  and  taking  hold  of  him  by  the  ear, 
ran  his  spear  through  the  body,  and  despatched  him.  The  scene  is 
depicted  with  great  spirit,  and  the  inscription  over  it  reads  as 
follows :  "  I,  Assur-bani-pal,  by  my  courage  on  my  feet,  a  powerful 
lion  of  the  desert  by  his  ear  grasped,  and  in  the  service  of  Assur  and 
Ishtar,  the  goddesses  of  war,  with  my  spear  I  pierced  through  his 
body.'" 

The  ancient  Egyptians  used  to  tame  lions  and  employ  them  for 
hunting  purposes,  and  their  monarchs  are  said  to  have  been  accom- 
panied in  battle  by  a  favourite  lion. 

The  Claim  of  the  Daughters  of  Zelophehad. 

NUMBERS  xxvii.  i-n  :  'Why  should  the  name  of  our  father  be  done  away  from 
among  his  family,  because  he  hath  no  son  ?  Give  unto  us  therefore  a  possession 
among  the  brethren  of  our  father'  (ver.  4). 

Difficulty. —  Can  there  properly  be  exceptions  even  to  Divine 
rules  ?. 

Explanation. — Eastern  people  make  much  of  the  preservation 
of  the  family  name  in  a  line  of  sons ;  and  Moses  did  but  fit  in 
with  received  notions,  when  he  made  property  in  the  Holy  Land 
descend  only  in  the  male  line.  It  was  a  rule  that  usually  worked 
well,  but  it  pressed  in  an  exceptionally  hard  way  in  particular 
cases. 

13—2 


196     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

This  case  is  one  of  great  interest.  Zelophehad  died  in  the  wilder- 
ness, but  not  in  any  way  of  judgment  upon  his  unfaithfulness  to  the 
Covenant.  If  he  had  been  one  who  took  part,  for  instance,  in  the 
rebellion  of  Korah,  his  daughters  would  have  pleaded  in  vain  against 
the  forfeiture  of  his  property.  Those  daughters  were  placed  in  a 
difficulty  which  was  not  complicated  by  any  side  considerations. 
They  simply  had  no  brother  to  hold  the  family  property,  and 
carry  on  the  family  name,  and  they  were  in  peril  of  becoming 
penniless,  and  dependent  on  charity,  by  the  passing  of  their  father's 
property  to  another  branch  of  the  family.  They  were  women  of 
energy  and  decision,  and  they  pleaded  for  an  exception  in  their  case 
to  the  ordinary  working  of  Divinely  appointed  rule. 

In  view  of  the  Eastern  sentiment  about  women,  their  request 
excites  surprise.  We  cannot  wonder  that  Moses  felt  he  must  take 
the  matter  directly  to  God.  The  response  was  a  gracious  modifica- 
tion of  the  Divine  rule  ;  and  an  important  step  in  the  elevation  of 
women. 

With  permission  to  hold  their  father's  estate  these  women  stood  in 
the  position  of  heiresses,  and  later  rules  for  the  marriages  of  such 
persons  are  given  in  chapter  xxxvi.  Probably  the  person  marrying 
the  eldest  daughter  would  take  the  rights  and  name  of  the  eldest  son. 

Fathers  seem  to  have  had  the  power  to  will  portions  of  their 
estates  to  their  daughters,  but  Zelophehad  had  evidently  been  cut  off 
in  some  sudden  way,  without  making  proper  arrangements  for  his 
family,  who  were  left  in  something  of  the  disability  of  families  now-a- 
days,  when  a  parent  dies  without  leaving  a  will. 

The  response  which  Moses  was  authorized  to  make  in  this  case 
clearly  illustrates  that  all  rules,  human  and  Divine,  must  be  formu- 
lated to  meet  the  general  condition.  But  human  and  Divine  rules 
must  accept  the  special  situations  made  by  calamity,  self-will,  etc.,  and 
so  must  have  precise  adaptations.  In  Divine  as  well  as  human 
spheres  the  old  saying  is  in  great  measure  true,  that  'Exceptions 
prove  the  rule.' 

The  Use  of  Trees  at  a  Siege. 

DEUTERONOMY  xx.  19,  20:  *  When  thou  shalt  besiege  a  city  a  long  time,  in 
making  war  against  it  to  take  it,  thou  shalt  not  destroy  the  trees  thereof  by  forcing 
an  axe  against  them  :  for  thou  mayest  eat  of  them,  and  thou  shalt  not  cut  them 
down  (for  the  tree  of  the  field  is  man's  life)  to  employ  them  in  the  siege.  Only 
the  trees  which  thou  knowest  that  they  be  not  trees  for  meat,  thou  shalt  destroy 
and  cut  them  down  ;  and  thou  shalt  build  bulwarks  against  the  city  that  maketh 
war  with  thee,  until  it  be  subdued.' 

Difficulty. — Seeing  that  the  wood  of  ordinary  fruit  trees  is  of 
little  use  for  building  purposes,  was  this  injunction  necessary  ? 


THE  USE  OF  TREES  AT  A  SIEGE.  197 

Explanation. — So  great  would  be  the  demand  for  supplies  of 
wood  in  a  prolonged  siege  conducted  on  ancient  methods,  that 
there  would  be  danger  of  the  ruthless  destruction  of  trees  of  every 
kind.  The  framework,  under  the  shelter  of  which  the  soldiers 
fought,  was  made  roughly  of  wood-work ;  so  were  the  battering  rams ; 
and  also  the  towers,  from  the  top  of  which  stones  and  arrows  could 
be  cast.  As  the  purposes  of  the  besiegers  were  only  temporary  any 
kind  of  wood  would  do  ;  and  in  the  excitement  of  warfare,  soldiers 
never  stay  to  estimate  the  permanent  value  of  the  things  they  seize 
and  destroy. 

Eastern  people  are  more  directly  dependent  for  food  upon  the 
fruit-trees  than  Western  people  are.  The  olive,  vine,  fig,  etc.,  are 
staple  articles  ;  and  the  trees  which  bear  such  fruits  are  a  long  time  in 
coming  to  maturity.  So  the  thoughtless  destruction  of  them  entails 
suffering  and  distress  for  years  after  the  siege  is  ended ;  and  the 
conquerors  may  themselves  have  to  bear  the  disability. 

The  passage  has  a  special  interest  as  illustrating  the  mercifulness 
Df  the  Mosaic  system,  and  the  early  recognition  of  the  necessity  for 
nitigating  the  horrors  and  the  evil  consequences  of  war.  It  is  but 
.he  loss  of  one  year's  labour  if  the  harvest  of  the  fields  is  swept  away ; 
)ut  to  destroy  the  matured  fruit-trees  is  to  destroy  the  harvests  of 
nany  years. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  gives  the  literal  translation  of  the  passage  thus  : 
— '  When  thou  shalt  besiege  a  city  for  many  days  in  fighting  against 
t  to  take  it,  thou  shalt  not  destroy  the  trees  by  forcing  an  axe  against 
hem  ;  for  thou  shalt  eat  of  them,  and  shalt  not  cut  them  down,  for 
nan  is  the  tree  of  the  field,  to  go  from  thy  face  to  the  siege ' — *  that 
3,  man,  fed  and  strengthened  by  the  fruit-trees,  can  go  from  thy 
ace  to  the  siege,  and  take  the  city,  which  the  trees  without  man's 
iclp  cannot  do,  and  he  cannot  help  if  he  have  not  food.' 

On  the  passage  Wordsworth  further  says :  *  Perhaps  the  true 
leaning  is  this :  Thou  art  engaged,  it  may  be,  in  besieging  a  city ; 
nd  thou  art  wearied  with  the  siege,  which  has  lasted  a  long  time ; 
et  do  not  be  thereby  tempted  to  cut  down  the  fruit-trees,  for  thou 
halt  eat  of  them ;  they  shall  keep  thee  to  continue  the  siege,  and  to 
ring  it  to  a  successful  issue ;  and  in  this  way,  by  supplying  food, 
lese  fruit-trees  will  be  of  much  more  use  than  they  would  be  by 
eing  used  as  timber  in  trie  siege ;  for  the  timber  of  trees  is  of  little 
se,  if  men  faint  in  the  siege  for  want  of  food,  and  cannot  therefore 
se  the  timber  of  the  trees  for  any  good  effect.' 
In  India,  and  other  warm  countries,  where  the  people  live  very  much 
i  fruit,  the  destruction  of  a  fruit-tree  is  considered  a  sort  of  sacrilege. 


198      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
The  Day  for  waving  the  Harvest  Sheaf. 

LEVITICUS  xxiii.  II  :  'And  he  shall  wave  the  sheaf  before  the  Lord,  to  be 
accepted  for  you  :  on  the  morrow  after  the  Sabbath  the  priest  shall  wave  it.' 

Difficulty. —  Was  this  a  fixed  day>  or  was  it  the  day  when  the 
yearns  first-fruits  were  gathered? 

Explanation.— The  matter  is  fully  dealt  with  in  the  Speaker's 
Commentary,  and  from  it  the  following  notes  are  taken.  The 
opinion  of  Wogue  seems,  on  the  whole,  most  worthy  of  acceptance. 

'  The  words  "  on  the  morrow  after  the  Sabbath "  denote  the 
1 6th  Abib,  the  day  after  the  first  day  of  Holy  Convocation,  and  this 
was  called  the  Sabbath  of  the  Passover,  or  the  Sabbath  of  Unleavened 
Bread.  The  word  "Sabbath"  is  similarly  applied  to  the  Day  of  Atone- 
ment in  verse  32.  That  the  day  in  which  the  sheaf  was  offered  was 
the  1 6th  of  the  month,  and  the  "Sabbath"  here  spoken  of  was  the  i5th, 
is  in  accordance  with  the  LXX.,  Philo,  Josephus,  the  Mishna,  the 
Targums,  and  the  Rabbinists  in  general.  The  reason  of  the  offering 
being  made  on  this  particular  day  may  have  been  that  the  catting  of 
the  sheaf  formed  a  part  of  the  ceremony ;  and,  as  the  formal  com- 
mencement of  the  practical  work  of  harvest  (cf.  Deut.  xvi.  9),  it  was 
less  suitable  for  the  day  of  Holy  Convocation  than  for  the  first  of  the 
days  of  less  solemn  observance,  on  which,  according  to  Jewish  tradi- 
tion, ordinary  work  was  permitted  under  certain  limitations. — There 
has,  however,  been  a  difference  of  opinion  regarding  the  day  from 
early  times.  The  Karaite  Jews,  and  the  Sadducees  before  them, 
held  that  the  name  Sabbath  could  denote  nothing  but  the  weekly 
Sabbath,  in  this  place  as  well  as  in  verse  15.  They  therefore  held  that 
the  day  here  spoken  of  was  the  weekly  Sabbath  which  happened  to 
fall  within  the  week  of  the  Passover.  It  has  been  imagined  in  recent 
times  that  the  commencement  of  the  year  and  the  time  of  the  feast 
were  so  arranged  that  the  day  of  the  Paschal  Supper,  the  i4th  of  Abib, 
and  the  last  day  of  the  feast,  the  2ist,  coincided  with  the  weekly 
Sabbath  (Hitzig,  Hupfeld,  Knobel,  Kurtz).  On  this  hypothesis,  the 
sheaf  was  offered  either  on  the  22nd  of  the  month,  after  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  feast  (Hitzig,  Hupfeld),  or  on  the  i£th  that  is,  the  first 
day  of  Holy  Convocation  (Knobel,  Kurtz).  But  this  arrangement 
would  involve  a  disturbance  of  the  year,  which  would  end  with  a 
broken  week,  and  a  still  more  serious  dislocation  of  the  Sabbath-day 
by  no  means  consistent  with  its  peculiar  sanctity,  unless  we  adopt 
the  very  unreasonable  supposition  that  the  Hebrew  year  consisted 
of  twelve  months  of  exactly  four  weeks. —  Wo°ue  suggests  that  the 


PILLOWS  AND  ARMHOLES.  199 

•day  of  the  ceremony  was  not  determined  with  any  fixed  relation  to  the 
Passover,  but  that  it  was  the  day  following  the  Sabbath  whenever 
the  barley  happened  to  be  ripe,  according  as  the  season  was  later  or 
earlier.' 

Pillows  and  Armholes. 

EZEKIEL  xiii.  18  :  *Woe  to  the  women  that  sew  pillows  to  all  armholes,  and 
make  kerchiefs  upon  the  head  of  every  stature  to  hunt  souls.' 

Difficulty. —  What  strange  customs  are  upbraided  in  this  passage  ? 

Explanation. — We  note  that  the  margin  for  'armholes'  is 
'elbows';  and  that  the  'kerchiefs'  are  what  we  know  as  'veils.' 

The  verse  is  part  of  a  denunciation  of  faise  prophetesses.  Such 
persons  arose  in  the  later  and  decaying  days  of  Judaism,  and  their 
existence  as  a  class  was  a  proof  of  national  declension  into  heathen 
usages.  These  prophetesses  are  here  described  by  their  characteristic 
.appearance  and  rites.  A  peculiar  kerchief  or  veil  was  worn  to  make 
them  seem  more  mysterious  and  awful :  and  women  of  different 
height  or  stature  put  on  these  veils.  Compare  T.  Moore's  poem,  in 
La  I  la  Rookh,  the  Veiled  Prophet  of  Khorassan. 

Some  render  the  word  '  pillows '  as  *  cases,'  and  suppose  it  refers  to 
cases  of  leather  or  parchment  containing  amulets  or  charms  attached 
to  the  sleeves.  The  word  rendered  '  armholes '  literally  means  'joints 
of  the  two  hands,'  but  the  same  word  is  used  in  Jer.  xxxviii.  12 
for  armpits,  which  seems  to  be  also  the  meaning  in  the  passage 
before  us. 

The  Speakers  Commentary  gives  the  three  possible  explanations : 
*  i.  Most  ancient  interpreters,  and  many  modern  ones,  have  under- 
stood the  pillows  and  kerchiefs,  or  whatever  else  these  words  may 
denote,  as  appliances  to  which  the  sorcerers  had  resort  in  order  to 
-attract  notice.  Among  these  interpreters  there  has  been  much  differ- 
ence whether  pillows  were  used  for  padding  or  for  ornament,  or 
whether  amulets  and  charms  were  not  the  things  put  on — whether 
these  pillows  or  charms  were  worn  on  the  shoulder,  the  elbow,  or  the 
wrist — whether  again  they  put  on  a  peculiar  head-dress,  or  a  veil,  or 
a  mantle,  or  even  a  band  round  the  neck.  But  these  questions,  for 
the  solution  of  which  we  have  no  certain  data,  are  really  immaterial. 
It  is  the  purpose,  not  the  exact  nature,  of  the  appliances  with  which 
•we  have  to  do. 

'  2.  Others  taking  the  pillows  and  kerchiefs,  or,  as  they  would  say, 
.neck-cushions,  to  be  used  figuratively,  conceive  that  here  a  rebuke  is 
intended  to  such  as  lull  God's  people  to  false  security  by  whispering 
peace  where  there  is  no  peace.  Thcodoret  (quoted  by  Rosenmuller) 


200      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

well  expresses  this  view.  "  By  these  words  are  reproved  in  a  figure 
smooth  and  easy  addresses.  For  soft  cushions  for  the  neck  or  for 
the  arms  bring  indeed  to  the  limbs  which  they  support  a  certain  kind 
of  rest  and  relief,  and  so  smooth  addresses,  being  at  the  same  time, 
false,  for  a  season  indeed  tickle  the  ear,  but  in  the  end  weaken  and 
distort  the  soul."  But  this  explanation  is  forced  and  unnatural. 

*  3.  Hdvernick  sees  in  the  passage  a  reference,  not  to  the  modes  o£ 
divining,  but  to  the  licentious  habits  of  these  women  luring  men  to 
their  ruin,  like  the  strange  woman  in  Prov.  vi.,  vii.  According  to  him 
the  pillows  are  the  soft  cushions  which  they  arrange  upon  their  beds 
of  luxury ;  the  kerchief s^  or  rather  '  veils/  are  the  rich  attire  with  which- 
they  deck  themselves  to  catch  men.' 

Wordsworth  proposes  an  entirely  new  translation.  '  Woe  to  the 
women  that  sew  coverings  upon  all  joints  of  My  hands ;'  that  is,  '  who 
muffle  up  the  joints  of  My  hands,  when  I  stretch  them  out  in  retribu- 
tion, and  who  endeavour  to  hide  My  arms,  which  I  make  bare  to 
punish  My  people.' 

Gadsby,  illustrating  the  passage,  notes  that  in  Eastern  houses  there 
are  often  most  luxurious  arrangements  made.  '  Many  indulge  them- 
selves by  having  soft  pillows  under  their  armpits,  in  addition  to  those 
against  the  wall,  when  they  "  stretch  themselves  upon  their  couches." 
These  pillows,  or  cushions,  are  often  made,  sewn,  by  the  women  of 
the  harem.'  Gadsby  thinks  the  kerchiefs  were  'charms',  such  as- 
small  shells  strung  together,  and  worn  as  amulets. 

The  Revised  Version  makes  a  small  change  in  the  first  sentence 
only,  reading  :  '  Woe  to  the  women  that  sew  pillows  upon  all  elbows ;' 
putting  in  the  margin,  as  an  alternative  reading,  'joints  of  the 
hands.' 

Jewish   Conceptions  of  Cherubim. 

GENESIS  iii.  24  :  '  And  He  placed  at  the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden  cherubims,, 
and  a  flaming  sword  which  turned  every  way,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life.' 

Question. — Are  these  beings  to  be  conceived  by  the  help  of  later  and 
fewish  representations  of  cherubim  ? 

Answer. — It  is  better  to  treat  this  passage  as  an  instance  of 
symbolical  teaching,  and  not  attempt  to  fix  a  definite  form  and  shape 
to  the  beings  introduced  in  it.  Its  use  is  to  impress  on  the  reader 
the  activity  of  that  aspect  of  the  Divine  being  which  is  revealed  in 
this  judgment  on  our  self-willed  ancestors.  These  cherubs  are  the 
active  ministrants  of  the  Divine  justice.  God  vindicating  Himself, 
and  guarding  His  Divine  rights,  is  apprehended  by  man  as  cherubic 
figures  keeping  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life. 


JEWISH  CONCEPTIONS  OF  CHERUBIM.         201 

This  symbolic  meaning  appears  later  on  as  attached  to  these 
beings.  Figures  of  them  were  placed  on  either  side  of  the  cover  of 
the  Ark,  which  was  regarded  as  the  'mercy-seat.'  It  maybe  said 
that  the  original  meaning  of  them,  the  meaning  retained  and  adapted 
in  all  later  representations  of  them,  was  this — they  were  the  minis- 
trants  of  that  justice  which  ever  guards  God's  mercy. 

'  This  at  least  is  taught  us  by  the  cherubim  guarding  the  way  to 
the  tree  of  life.  Paradise  had  been  lost  by  sin ;  but  it  was  not  gone 
for  ever.  The  tree  of  life,  and  the  garden  where  it  grew,  were  still 
in  full  glory  under  the  keeping  of  God,  and  of  His  holy  angels.  The 
forfeited  life  is  not  irrecoverable ;  but  it  can  only  be  recovered 
through  fighting  and  conquest,  suffering  and  death.  There  were 
between  it  and  man  the  ministers  of  righteous  vengeance  and  the 
flaming  sword.' 

Josephus  says  that  'no  one  can  conjecture  of  what  kind  the 
cherubim  were/  God's  throne  is  His  mercy-seat;  but  He  dwells 
between  the  cherubim.  Surely  this  is  meant  to  impress  on  us  that 
His  mercy  is  under  the  guardianship  of  His  righteousness. 

1  That  the  sacred  tree  of  Assyria  is  sometimes  guarded  by  genii  is 
a  coincidence  with  the  Bible  narrative,  which  tells  of  God's  placing 
cherubim  "  before  "  Eden,  "  and  a  flaming  sword,  which  turned  every 
way  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life."  These  mysterious  beings 
are  often  mentioned  in  Scripture.  They  covered  the  mercy-seat 
with  their  outspread  wings ;  they  were  represented  on  the  walls  of 
the  Temple  of  Solomon,  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  they  appear  in 
the  visions  of  Ezekiel.  The  tradition  of  their  presence  in  Eden 
impressed  itself  deeply  on  the  popular  mind  in  Assyria,  reappearing 
age  after  age  in  such  forms  as  the  winged  bulls  with  human  faces, 
which  guarded  the  entrances  to  the  Palace  of  Nineveh.  "The 
watchful  bull,  which  protects  the  strength  of  my  kingdom,  and  the 
glory  of  my  honour,"  says  Esar-Haddon,  in  an  inscription  which  refers 
to  one  of  them.  Nor  is  it  less  striking  that  they  bear  the  very  name 
of  Cherubim  or  Kerubi,  even  the  gates  which  they  watched  coming 
in  the  end  to  be  similarly  called.  That  they  were  regarded  as  at 
least  symbols  of  mysterious  higher  existences,  able  to  protect  and 
preserve  what  was  put  under  their  care,  is  evident  from  their  place 
being  sometimes  occupied  by  known  divinities,  and  by  the  fact  that  a 
bas-relief,  representing  the  erection  of  one,  under  the  direction  of 
King  Sennacherib,  bears  on  it,  after  the  Divine  symbol,  the  words, 
« the  bull,"  "the  god."' 


.302      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
Coals  of  Juniper. 

PSALM  cxx.  4  ;  *  Sharp  arrows  of  the  mighty,  with  coals  of  juniper.' 
Difficulty. —  What  is  meant  by  this  expression,  and  how  can  it  be 
applied  to  the  false  deceitful  tongue?  (see  verse,  2,  3.) 

Explanation. — The  marginal  reading  treats  verse  4  as  an  expo- 
sition of  what  the  influence  of  the  *  false  tongue '  is,  and  proposes  to 
Tead,  *  It  is  as  the  sharp  arrows  of  the  mighty  man,  with  coals  of 
juniper.' 

Writing  of  the  juniper,  Thomson,  Land  and  Book,  p.  6n,  says: 
*  What  sort  of  juniper  roots  can  be  used  for  food  is  more  than  I  can 
•discover  or  comprehend.  They  are  excessively  bitter,  and  nothing 
but  the  fire  will  devour  them.  Burckhardt  found  the  Bedawin  of 
Sinai  burning  them  into  coal,  and  says  that  they  make  the  best  char- 
-coal,  and  throw  out  the  most  intense  heat.' 

As  the  arrows  of  a  '  false  tongue  '  sharply  pierce,  so  the  coals  of  a 
4  false  tongue '  sharply  burn. 

Some  writers  treat  verse  4  as  an  answer  to  the  question,  *  What  shall 
foe  done  unto  thee  ?'  and  regard  the  *  arrows'  and  the  'coals'  as  figu- 
rative descriptions  of  the  Divine  punishments  that  must  come  upon 
the  slanderous  tongue.  This  view  may  be  given  in  the  words  of 
Jennings  and  Lowe.  'The  root  of  the  broom  (rethem,  Hebrew, 
rotheni)  is  still  much  used  by  the  Arabs  for  charcoal ;  it  appears  to 
have  been  noted  among  the  Hebrews  as  retaining  heat  longer  than  other 
fuel :  All  (other)  coals  when  they  are  quenched  outside  are  quenched 
inside,  but  these  become  quenched  outside  but  not  inside.'  Ab.  Ezra. 
The  conjunction  of  coals  with  arrows  here  does  not  warrant  a 
reference  to  malleoli,  or  flaming  arrows ;  rather,  God  is  conceived  of 
<(cf.  xviii.  12)  as  casting  down  actual  coals  of  fire  from  heaven,  upon 
the  heads  of  these  persons.'  This  is  quite  the  better,  and  more 
probable,  explanation. 

The  '  Cherem,'  or  Devoted  Thing. 

LEVITICUS  xxvii.  28,  29  :  '  Notwithstanding  no  devoted  thing,  that  a  man  shall 
devote  unto  the  Lord  of  all  that  he  hath,  both  of  man  and  beast,  and  of  the  field 
of  his  possession,  shall  be  sold  or  redeemed  :  every  devoted  thing  is  most  holy 
unto  the  Lord.  None  devoted,  which  shall  be  devoted  of  men,  shall  be  redeemed  ; 
but  shall  surely  be  put  to  death.' 

Question. — Can  this  law  of  devotemcnt  reasonably  excuse  the  de 
.st ruction  of  human  life? 

Answer. — While  the  sanctity  of  human  life  is  the  very  foundation 
of  social  morality,  allegiance  to  God  is  a  higher  rule  than  it,  and  in 


THE  ICHEREM;  OR  DEVOTED  THING.      203 

any  case  of  conflict,  human  life  must  yield,  rather  than  the  allegiance 
to  God.  This  relation  of  the  two  great  rules  for  humanity  is  but  out- 
wardly expressed  in  the  law  of  '  devotement' 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  term  cursed,  or  a  curse,  should  be  used 
for  the  devoted  thing.  The  proper  meaning  of  the  cherem  is  that 
which  is  cut  off  from  common  use,  and  given  up,  in  some  sense, 
to  Jehovah,  without  the  right  of  recall  or  commutation.  Any  live 
•creature  so  devoted  was  to  be  put  to  death,  as  the  only  way  in  which 
it  could  be  given  wholly — life  and  all — to  Jehovah. 

The  expectation  is,  that  every  vow  of  devotement  should  be 
seriously,  thoughtfully,  and  reverently  made,  as  an  act  of  loyalty  and 
devotion  to  God.  Such  rash  vows  as  were  made  by  Saul  after 
Jonathan's  victory,  or  by  Jephthah  in  the  matter  of  his  daughter, 
receive  no  Scripture  commendations ;  and  differ  altogether  from  the 
•destruction  of  the  people  of  Jericho,  or  Samuel's  hewing  Agag  in 
pieces  before  the  Lord. 

This  subject  will  be  found  treated  in  another  section,  as  presenting 
a  moral  difficulty. 

The  Trial  of  Jealousy. 

NUMBERS  v.  29,  30  :  'This  is  the  law  of  jealousies,  when  a  wife  goeth  aside  to 
another,  instead  of  her  husband  and  is  defiled  :  or  when  the  spirit  of  jealousy 
cometh  upon  him,  and  he  be  jealous  over  his  wife,  and  shall  set  the  woman  before 
the  Lord,  and  the  priest  shall  execute  upon  her  all  this  law.' 

Difficulty. — Does  not  this  arrangement  involve  the  Divine 
.approval  of  trial  by  ordeal  ? 

Explanation. — It  does.  And  it  brings  up  before  us  several  very 
interesting  and  important  considerations,  such  as :  i.  The  necessity 
for  an  adjustment  of  rules,  punishments,  and  methods  of  judgment, 
to  the  intellectual  and  social  condition,  and  the  moral  sentiments,  of 
•each  particular  age.  Manifestly  modes  of  administering  justice  should 
not  be  the  same  in  heathen,  in  tribal,  in  national,  and  in  civilized 
societies.  And  that  may  be  permissible  and  best  in  a  superstitious 
-age,  which  could  have  no  place  at  all  in  a  scientific  one.  2.  The 
degree  in  which  the  Mosaic  system  was  dependent  upon  existing 
customs,  and,  while  adopting  them,  modified  them,  and  corrected  the 
evil  which  was  found,  practically,  to  attach  to  them.  (Another 
instance  of  this  is  the  Mosaic  modification  of  the  Eastern  system  of 
•committing  the  avengement  of  murder  to  the  nearest  relative  of  the 
murdered  man).  3.  The  way  in  which  '  trial  by  ordeal '  has  answered 
its  end,  not  by  the  test  of  the  ordeal,  but  by  the  appeal  it  made  to 
the  conscience  of  the  person  submitted  to  it. 


204      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

There  is  also  the  further  interesting  but  subtle  question  of  the 
connection  of  the  conscience  with  the  nervous  system,  and  so  with 
health  and  disease. 

Jamieson  has  the  following  good  and  sufficient  note  on  this  trial 
by  jealousy.  *  Adultery  discovered  and  proved  was  punished  with 
death.  But  strongly  suspected  cases  would  occur,  and  this  law  made 
provision  for  the  conviction  of  the  guilty  person.  It  was,  however, 
not  a  trial  conducted  according  to  the  forms  of  judicial  process, 
but  an  ordeal  through  which  a  suspected  adulteress  was  made  to 
go — the  ceremony  being  of  that  terrifying  nature,  that  on  the 
known  principles  of  human  nature,  guilt  or  innocence  could  not 
fail  to  appear.  From  the  earliest  times,  the  jealousy  of  Eastern 
people  has  established  ordeals  for  the  detection  and  punishment  of 
suspected  unchastity  in  wives.  The  practice  was  deeply  rooted  as 
well  as  universal.  And  it  has  been  thought  that  the  Israelites  being 
strongly  biassed  in  favour  of  such  usages,  this  law  of  jealousies  was 
incorporated  amongst  the  other  institutions  of  the  Mosaic  economy, 
in  order  to  free  it  from  the  idolatrous  rites  which  the  heathen  had 
blended  with  it.' 

'  The  process  prescribed  has  been  lately  strikingly  illustrated  from 
the  Egyptian  "Romance. of  Setnau,"  translated  by  Brugsch,  which 
though  itself  comparatively  modern  (of  the  third  century  B.C.),  yet 
refers  to  the  time  of  Rameses  the  Great,  and  may  therefore  well  serve 
to  illustrate  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Mosaic  period.  "  In 
the  story,  Ptahneferka  takes  a  leaf  of  papyrus,  and  on  it  copies  out 
every  word  of  a  certain  magic  formula.  He  then  dissolves  the 
writing  in  water,  drinks  the  decoction,  and  knows  in  consequence 
all  that  it  contained."  See  Smith,  "Pent."  i.  297,  298;  "Revue 
Archeol.,"  Sept.,  1867,  p.  161.  This  then,  like  several  other  ordi- 
nances, was  adopted  by  Moses  from  existing  and  probably  very 
ancient  and  widely  spread  institutions.' — Espin. 

High  Places. 

LEVITICUS  xxvi.  30  :  '  And  I  will  destroy  your  high  places,  and  cut  down  your 
images. 

Question. — Is  there  not  some  uncertainty  about  the  Divine  dealings 
with  these  high  places  ?  Sometimes  they  are  sternly  denounced,  but 
sometimes  they  seem  to  have  been  permitted. 

Answer. — About  the  Divine  will  and  law  in  the  matter  there  can 
be  no  question.  The  high  places  were  such  sources  of  peril  and 
temptation  that  the  Jews  needed  to  be  guarded  from  all  association 
with  them.  But  we  have,  in  the  actual  government  of  men  and 


HIGH  PLACES.  205 

nations,  to  distinguish  carefully  between  what  is  legislatively  perfect 
and  what  is  administratively  practical.  Absolute  laws  have  to  be 
adjusted  to  the  frailties  of  human  life  and  social  relations.  And  so 
every  nation  finds  that,  under  certain  circumstances,  some  of  its  laws 
cannot  wisely  be  pressed.  It  cannot  change  the  law,  but  it  may 
withhold  the  action  of  the  law,  and  permit  a  seeming  disobedience 
which  yet  preserves  the  nation  from  more  serious  evils.  We  may  see 
that  as  God's  rule  was  a  direct  rule  of  fallible  men,  of  a  frail,  preju- 
diced nation  set  in  mischievous  surroundings,  He  also  may  hold  His 
rules  in  abeyance,  and  permit  what  He  cannot  approve.  This  suffi- 
ciently accounts  for  the  Divine  disregard  of  the  latter  customs  respect- 
ing the  '  high  places.' 

It  may  be  well  to  add,  briefly,  some  account  of  what  these  were, 
and  now  they  came  to  be  superstitiously  regarded.  Ewald  says  : 
*  The  highest  summits  of  the  earth  have  always  been  deemed  places 
essentially  sacred.  The  high  places  of  the  earth  had  something  of 
a  sacred  character  even  for  the  earliest  Jahveism.  Just  because  this 
religion  was  utterly  unable  any  longer  to  find  and  to  hold  fast  its  God 
in  any  single  earthly  object  which  was  visible  and  could  be  handled, 
it  was  all  the  more  eager  and  anxious  to  find  the  tokens  of  his 
existence  and  activity,  at  any  rate,  in  heaven  and  in  all  heavenly 
phenomena,  and  therefore  in  the  clouds  which  touch  the  highest  and 
holiest  spots  of  earth.  This  was  a  primitive  belief,  which  maintained 
itself  in  Israel  down  to  later  days,  and  was  not  severely  shaken  until 
the  highest  and  most  illustrious  sanctuary  of  the  nation  was  perma- 
nently established  on  the  but  slightly  elevated  Mount  Zion,  before 
which  the  incomparably  higher  peaks  of  the  earth  now  seemed  to 
bow  their  heads  for  ever.' 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  says  :  '  There  seems  to  have  been  a 
widely  spread  tendency  in  early  times  to  select  hills  as  places  for 
public  devotion.  The  spots  which  have  the  oldest  religious  associa- 
tions in  most  regions  are  on  elevated  ground.  The  Acropolis  and 
the  Capitol  are  examples.  Most  Druidical  monuments  are  similarly 
situated.  The  three  altars  built  by  Abraham  at  Shechem,  between 
Bethel  and  Ai,  and  at  Mamre,  appear  to  have  been  on  heights,  and 
so  was  the  Temple. 

*  The  high  places  in  the  Holy  Land  may  have  been  divided  into 
those  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Jehovah  (as  memorial-places),  and 
those  which  had  been  dedicated  to  idols  (under  the  older  Canaanite 
regime).  It  was  contrary  to  the  letter  of  the  Law  that  sacrifices 
should  be  offered  at  any  place  except  the  national  sanctuary,  whether 
it  was  the  Tabernacle  at  Shiloh  or  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  But 


206      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  restraint  took  effect  only  by  degrees.  The  public  worship  of 
Jehovah  was  still  permitted  at  the  high  places  even  by  kings  who 
desired  to  serve  Him  :  2  Kings  xiv.  4;  xv.  35  ;  2  Chron.  xv.  17, 
etc.  It  would  seem  as  if  there  was  a  constant  struggle  going 
on.  The  high  places  polluted  by  idol  worship  were,  of  course,  to  be 
wholly  condemned.  They  were  probably  resorted  to  only  to  gratify 
a  degraded  superstition.  The  others  might  have  been  innocently 
used  for  prayer  and  religious  teaching  as  the  synagogues  were  in  a 
later  age.  But  the  temptation  appears  to  have  been  too  great  for 
the  temper  of  the  people.  They  offered  sacrifices  and  burnt  incense 
on  them ;  and  hence,  thorough  reformers  of  the  national  religion, 
such  as  Hezekiah  and  Josiah,  removed  the  high  places  altogether  ; 
2  Kings  xviii.  4 ;  xxiii.  5.' 

Dean  Stanley's  description  of  an  ancient  'high  place '  is  too- 
interesting  to  be  withheld  (Jewish  Church,  vol.  ii.,  p.  408).  'Beside 
the  Temple  worship  at  Jerusalem,  had  descended  what  may  be  called 
the  rural  worship  of  the  '  high  places  ' — at  Bethel,  at  Beersheba,  at 
Moriah,  on  the  mountains  of  Gilead,  at  Ophrah,  on  the  hills  of  Dan, 
at  Mizpeh  and  Ramah,  on  the  top  of  Olivet,  on  Mount  Carmel,  at 
Gibeon.  They  had  been  sanctioned  by  the  Patriarchs,  by  Samuel, 
by  David,  by  Solomon,  by  Elijah,  by  Asa  and  Jehoshaphat,  by  Joash, 
and  the  High  Priest  Jehoiada,  by  the  four  first  books  of  the 
Pentateuch,  if  not  expressly,  at  least  by  implication  (Gen.  xii.  7,  8, 
xxi.  13,  xxii.  2,  4,  xxxi.  54;  Judg.  vi.  25,  xiii.  16;  i  Sam.  vii.  ior 
ix.  12-19;  2  Sam.  xv.  32).  The  'high  place,'  properly  so  called, 
though  doubtless  originally  deriving  its  name  from  the  eminence  on 
which  it  stood,  was  a  pillar  of  stone,  covered,  like  Mussulman  tombs, 
or  like  the  sacred  house  of  the  Caaba,  with  rich  carpets,  robes,  and 
shawls.  An  altar  stood  in  front,  on  which,  on  ordinary  occasions, 
oils,  honey,  flour,  and  incense  were  offered ;  and,  on  solemn  occa- 
sions, slain  animals,  as  in  the  Temple.  Round  about  usually  stood 
a  sacred  hedge  or  grove  of  trees.  Such  a  grove  was  allowed  to  stand 
even  within  the  Temple  precincts.  There  was  a  charm  in  the  leafy 
shade  of  the  oak,  the  poplar,  and  the  terebinth,  peculiarly  attractive 
to  the  Israelite  and  Phoenician  devotion. 

'  Innocent  as  these  vestiges  of  ancient  religion  might  seem  to  be,  they 
were  yet,  like  the  Golden  Calves  in  the  northern  kingdom,  and  on 
exactly  similar  grounds,  inconsistent  with  the  strict  unity  and  purity 
of  the  Mosaic  worship,  and  had  an  equal  tendency  to  blend  with  the 
dark  polytheism  of  the  neighbouring  nations.' 

It  may  be  suggested  that  as  memorial  places,  serving  to  recall  the 
scenes  of  early  history,  the  high  places  were  permissible,  and  were 


TOWER  OF  THE  FLOCK.  307- 

religiously  useful.  So  far  as  they  were  meeting-places  convenient  for 
the  assembling  of  the  people  of  a  district  to  engage  in  religious 
worship,  they  might  be  invaluable,  especially  in  unsettled  times,  when 
few  could  venture  to  attend  the  feasts  at  Jerusalem.  But  so  far  as 
idolatrous  associations  were  retained  in  connection  with  them,  or 
incense  and  sacrifices  were  offered  at  them,  they  put  in  peril  the 
faith  of  the  people  in  Jehovah,  and  stern  laws  respecting  attendance 
at  them  were  promulgated. 

Tower  of  the  Flock. 

MICAH  iv.  8  '  And  thou,  O  tower  of  the  flock,  the  stronghold  of  the  daughter 
of  Zion,  unto  thee  shall  it  come,  even  the  first  dominion.' 

Difficulty. — Is  this  afgurative  or  a  proper  name  9 

Explanation. — Some  writers  treat  it  as  a  proper  name,  belong- 
ing to  a  structure,  or  the  old  site  of  one,  known  as  the  *  Flock- 
Tower,'  the  same  as  the  *  Tower  of  Edar,'  spoken  of  in  Gen.  xxxv.  21, 
near  the  encampment  of  Jacob  after  the  death  of  Rachel.  '  It  has 
been  assumed  that  it  was  a  suburb  of  Bethlehem,  and  that  its  name 
might  have  been  identified  with  the  abode  of  David's  family,  and 
used  as  a  symbol  of  the  royal  line.' 

The  term  may,  however,  be  regarded  as  a  figurative  and  poetical 
name  for  the  fortress  of  Zion,  the  figure  being  taken  from  the 
custom  of  erecting  towers  as  shelters  and  watching-places  for  those 
who  are  employed  in  guarding  flocks.  God's  people  are  regarded  as 
a  flock  watched  over  from  the  Tower  or  Fortress  of  Zion.  This 
explanation  is  the  one  that  may  be  preferred.  '  The  Flock-Tower  is 
an  apt  metaphor  for  the  Great  Shepherd  of  the  elect  people.' 

A.  Lapide  says  :  'The  Tower  of  the  Flock  is  the  Church  of  Christ, 
which  had  its  origin  in  Jerusalem,  and  to  which  all  nations  are 
gathered,  so  as  to  make  one  flock  and  one  Shepherd'  (John  x.  16). 

Fausset  says,  *  that  in  large  pastures  it  was  usual  to  erect  a  high 
wooden  tower,  so  as  to  oversee  the  flock.  The  prophet  Micah  had 
previously  referred  to  Israel  as  a  flock  (ch.  ii.  12),  and  it  is  but  carry- 
ing out  the  figure  to  regard  the  capital  city  as  the  tower  for  the 
guarding  of  the  flock.' 

The  Law  concerning  Seething  a  Kid. 

EXODUS  xxiii.  19  :  '  Thou  shalt  not  seethe  a  kid  in  his  mother's  milk.'  (Se-:; 
also  Exod.  xxxiv.  26  ;  Deut.  xiv.  21.) 

Question. —  Why  was  a  special  law  necessary  upon  such  a  matter  ? 

Answer. — There  must  have  been  some  existing  practices,  or 
customs,  which  Moses  regarded  as  mischievous  because  cruel,  or 


208     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

because  idolatrous  ;  and  commentators  have  searched  for  intimation 
of  such  customs. 

Cudworth  says  :  '  It  was  a  custom  of  the  ancient  heathens,  when 
they  had  gathered  in  all  their  fruits,  to  take  a  kid,  and  boil  it  in  the 
dam's  milk,  and  then,  in  a  magical  way,  to  go  about  and  besprinkle 
with  it  all  their  trees,  and  fields,  and  gardens,  and  orchards,  thinking 
by  this  means  they  should  make  them  fructify,  and  bring  forth  fruit 
again  more  abundantly  the  following  year.  Wherefore  God  forbade 
His  people,  the  Jews,  at  the  time  ot  their  ingathering,  to  use  any 
such  superstitious  or  idolatrous  rite.'  The  connection  in  which  this 
law  is  given  makes  this  a  valuable  suggestion.  The  clause  seems  to 
come  in  most  abruptly,  but  the  sentence  before  it  is — '  The  first  of 
the  first-fruits  of  thy  land  thou  shalt  bring  into  the  house  of  the  Lord 
thy  God.'  When  writing  of  the  first-fruits  and  of  the  ingathering, 
Moses  seems  to  have  been  suddenly  reminded  of  an  idolatrous 
custom  which  was  associated  with  such  times. 

The  connection  of  the  passage,  as  found  in  Deut  xiv.  21,  shows 
that  the  law  was  also  treated  as  a  rule  of  diet,  and  the  precept  may 
have  originated  in  the  humane  feeling  of  the  Jews,  and  in  that  sense 
of  the  fitness  and  propriety  of  things,  which  is  indicated  in  the  rules 
which  forbade  the  killing  of  a  cow  and  its  calf,  or  an  ewe  and  its 
lamb,  on  the  same  day ;  the  taking  of  an  old  bird  with  its  nest 
(Deut.  xxii.  6,  7) ;  the  yoking  of  an  ox  and  an  ass  together,  etc. 

Whether  their  explanation  is  the  correct  one  or  not,  it  may  be  im- 
possible to  say,  but  the  Jews  explain  the  precept  as  the  prohibition 
of  a  favourite  dish  of  the  Arabs.  On  this,  Thomson  writes,  in  Land 
and  Book,  pp.  94,  95,  as  follows  :  '  The  Arabs  select  a  kid,  fat  and 
tender,  dress  it  carefully,  and  then  stew  it  in  milk,  generally  sour, 
•mixed  with  onions  and  hot  spices,  such  as  they  relish.  They  call  it 
Lebn  immti — "Kid  in  his  mother's  milk."  The  Jews,  however,  will 
not  eat  it.  They  say  that  Moses  specifically  forbade  it  in  the 
precept,  Exod.  xxiii.  19,  which  he  repeated  three  times,  and  with 
special  emphasis.  They  further  maintain  that  it  is  unnatural  and 
barbarous  to  cook  a  poor  kid  in  that  from  which  it  derives  its  life.  This 
may  have  been  one  reason  for  the  prohibition — many  of  the  Mosaic 
precepts  are  evidently  designed  to  cultivate  gentle  and  humane 
feelings;  but  "kid  in  his  mother's  milk"  is  a  gross,  unwholesome 
dish,  calculated  also  to  kindle  up  animal  and  ferocious  passions ;  and 
on  these  accounts  Moses  may  have  forbidden  it.  Besides,  it  is  even 
yet  associated  with  immoderate  feasting,  and  originally,  I  suspect, 
was  connected  with  idolatrous  sacrifices.  A  great  deal  of  learning 
has  been  spent  upon  this  passage  by  critics,  to  ascertain  what  the 


VALUE  SET  ON  BIRTHRIGHTS.  209 

law-giver  referred  to ;  but  after  seeing  the  dish  actually  prepared,  and 
hearing  the  very  name  given  to  it  which  Moses  employs,  we  have 
the  whole  mystery  explained.  I  have  repeatedly  tasted  Lebn  immu  ; 
and  when  well  prepared,  it  has  a  rich  and  agreeable  flavour.' 


Value   set  on   Birthrights. 

GENESIS  xxv.  31  :  *  And  Jacob  said,  Sell  me  this  day  thy  birthright.' 

Question. —  What  peculiar  interest  could  attach  to  a  biriJiright 
that  it  could  be  worth  selling  or  buying? 

Answer.  —  The  incident  becomes  intelligible  only  through 
acquaintance  with  Eastern  and  tribal  sentiments  and  customs.  No 
such  bartering  of  birthrights  is  conceivable  in  European  countries ; 
and  it  should  be  carefully  noticed  that  the  buying  and  selling  of  these 
youths  had  no  practical  value  unless  in  some  way  the  exchange  could 
be  ratified  by  securing  also  the  patriarchal  blessing. 

The  succession  to  the  chieftainship  of  a  tribe  was,  in  every  way,  an 
important  matter.  The  hereditary  principle  was  recognised,  but  it 
seems  to  have  been  limited  by  the  will  of  the  reigning  chief.  In  the 
earlier  times  the  birthright  involved  succession  to  the  father  in  the 
rule  of  the  tribe  ;  claim  to  the  paternal  benediction  ;  a  double  portion 
of  the  father's  personal  property;  and  the  position  of  domestic  priest. 
In  this  particular  instance  two  things  gave  special  interest  to  the 
birthright  question,  and  account  for  Jacob's  anxiety  to  secure  the 
succession:  (i)  the  fact  that  Jacob  and  Esau  were  twin  sons,  and 
(2)  the  fact  that  the  covenant  blessing  was  conceived  to  attach  to  the 
birthright,  for  which  notion  there  does  not  appear  to  be  sufficient 
ground.  Jacob  might  be  the  one  in  the  spiritual  succession,  and 
the  proper  heir  of  the  covenant,  without  being  absolutely  the  first- 
born son. 

On  the  first  of  these  facts  Thomson,  Land  and  Book^  p.  588,  says: 
•'  In  the  case  oi  Jacob  and  Esau  it  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  they 
were  twins,  born  at  the  same  time,  and  Jacob  no  doubt  felt  that  his 
brother  had  really  no  valid  claims  of  precedence  which  should  entitle 
him  to  the  inestimable  blessings  involved  in  this  instance  in  the 
question  of  birthright ;  so  also  thought  his  mother/' 

Both  of  the  sons  were  in  the  wrong.  Esau  was  wrong  in  under- 
valuing the  right  which  he  seemed  to  possess.  And  Jacob  was  wrong 
in  overvaluing  a  right  on  which  his  covenant  position  in  no  sense 
depended.  Esau's  indifference  came,  no  doubt,  in  part  from  his  wild 
nature.  He  did  not  really  care  for  the  headship  of  a  merely  pastoral 

14 


210     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

tribe;  so  we  find  that  he  founded  a  new  tribe  of  enterprising  and 
warlike  Arabs.  His  subsequent  anger  arose  rather  from  the  annoy- 
ance of  being  so  cleverly  outwitted,  than  from  any  serious  regret  at 
the  losing  of  his  tribal  position  and  rights,  which  he  was  unfitted  to 
take  up. 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  has  a  good  note  on  this  subject,  from 
which  a  few  sentences  may  be  taken.  *  It  is  doubtful  what  privileges, 
the  birthright  carried  with  it  in  patriarchal  times.  In  after-times  a 
double  portion  of  the  patrimony  was  assigned  to  the  firstborn  by  law 
(Deut.  xxi.  15-17);  but  in  the  earliest  days  the  respect  paid  to  the 
eldest  son  is  very  apparent ;  and  as  the  family  spread  out  into  a  tribe, 
the  patriarchal  head  became  a  chieftain  or  prince.  It  also  looks  as  if 
the  head  of  the  family  exercised  a  kind  of  priesthood.  Then  the- 
father's  chief  blessing  was  given  to  his  firstborn  son.  Above  all,  in: 
the  family  of  Abraham,  there  was  a  promise  of  peculiar  spiritual 
privileges,  which,  if  not  fully  understood,  would  have  been  much 
dwelt  upon  by  believing  minds  ....  Jacob  had  probably  looked 
with  reverence  on  the  spiritual  promises,  though  with  culpable 
ambition  for  the  personal  pre-eminence  of  the  firstborn.  He  and 
Esau  were  twins,  and  it  may  have  seemed  hard  to  him  to  be  shut  out 
from  the  chief  hope  of  his  house  by  one  not  older  than  himself,  and 
whose  character  was  little  worthy  of  his  position.  There  may  be 
some  excuse  for  his  conduct,  but  the  sacred  history,  whilst  exposing, 
the  carnal  indifferences  of  Esau,  does  not  extenuate  the  selfishness  of: 
Jacob.' 

Heathen   Body- Markings. 

LEVITICUS  xix.  28  :  '  Ye  shall  not  make  any  cuttings  in  your  flesh  for  the  dead,, 
nor  print  any  marks  upon  you  :  I  am  the  Lord.' 

Difficulty. —  WJiy  was  the  freedom  of  the  people  limited  in  such  an 
apparently  indifferent  matter  ? 

Explanation. — In  the  management  of  a  family,  and  in  the 
ordering  of  society,  the  question  often  arises,  whether  a  thing  that  is 
not  wrong  in  itself  can  be  permitted,  because  it  leads  to  wrong  under 
particular  circumstances,  and  is  injurious  in  its  influence  upon  others. 
These  body  -  markings,  being  heathen  customs,  exercised  a  great 
influence  on  the  ancient  Eastern  people,  and  they  became  serious 
temptations  to  idolatry  when  the  Israelites  came  into  direct  contact 
with  them.  God  would  guard  His  people  from  idolatrous  associa- 
tions, and  it  was  needful  to  guard  against  these  in  their  more  subtle,, 
as  well  as  in  their  more  open,  forms, 


HEATHEN  BOD  Y-MARKINGS.  211 

It  may  be  well  to  illustrate  the  character  and  extent  of  these 
heathen  customs  of  self-mutilation. 

Burder  says  :  'The  painting  of  the  bodies  of  eminent  personages, 
or  of  others  upon  remarkable  occasions,  is  known  to  have  obtained 
in  countries  very  remote  from  each  other.  Our  British  ancestors 
were  painted,  and  Dampier,  the  celebrated  voyager,  brought  over  an 
East  Indian  prince,  whose  skin  was  very  curiously  stained  with 
various  figures.  The  wild  Arabs  adorn  themselves  in  this  manner, 
according  to  HArvieux^  who  tells  us,  among  other  things  in  his 
description  of  the  preparatives  for  an  Arab  wedding,  that  the  women 
draw,  with  a  certain  kind  of  ink,  the  figures  of  flowers,  fountains, 
houses,  cypress-trees,  antelopes,  and  other  animals,  upon  all  the  parts 
of  the  bride's  body.  This  the  Israelites  were  forbidden  to  do. 

Van  Lennep  writes  :  *  In  some  countries,  particularly  in  Egypt  or 
Arabia,  a  species  of  tattooing  is  practised.  Small  figures  in  lines  are 
punctured,  by  means  of  seven  needles  tied  together,  upon  the  fore- 
head, the  cheeks,  the  lips,  the  chin,  the  arms,  the  middle  of  the 
breast;  the  mark  being  rendered  permanent  by  the  insertion  of 
indigo,  or  other  substances,  which  gave  it  a  bluish  tint.  In  Persia, 
the  ladies  "  curiously  stain  their  fair  bodies  with  a  variety  of  fantastic 
devices,  not  unfrequently  with  the  figures  of  trees,  birds,  and  beasts, 
sun,  moon,  and  stars.  This  sort  of  pencil-work  spreads  over  the 
bosom,  and  continues  down  as  low  as  the  navel,  round  which  several 
radiated  figures  are  generally  painted." ' 

'It  is  not  only  the  custom  for  mourners  to  let  their  hair  grow  long, 
and  wear  it  in  a  disorderly  manner,  but  the  bereaved  in  the  East  to 
this  day  make  cuts  and  incisions  in  their  bodies  in  mourning  for  the 
dead.' — Dr.  Ginsburg. 

Pourtrayed  with  Vermilion. 

EZEKIEL  xxiii.  14  :  '  For  when  she  saw  men  pourtrayed  upon  the  wall,  the 
images  of  the  Chaldeans  pourtrayed  with  vermilion.'  (The  Revised  Version  omits 
the  word  when.} 

Question. — Is  the  prophet's  description  true  to  historical  fact  ? 

Answer. — 'The  monuments  of  Nineveh,  recently  discovered, 
show  how  the  walls  of  its  palaces  were  adorned  with  figures  precisely 
answering  to  this  description.  There  is  evidence  that  these  sculp- 
tures were  highly  coloured  with  vermilion,  or  rather  red  ochre.' 

Writers  on  India  state  that  the  women  who  have  prostituted  them- 
selves to  the  use  of  the  temples  are  always  dressed  in  crimson  or 
vermillion,  and  that  the  walls  are  covered  with  paintings  of  an 
infamous  character. 

14—2 


2-M      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

The  colour  vermilion  was  much  used  in  decorating  the  beams 
arid  panels  of  houses.  It  was  common  among  the  Assyrians  for 
drawing  images  on  the  walls  of  temples,  as  testified  by  late  dis- 
coveries. Idols,  according  to  an  apocryphal  writer,  were  painted 
wkh  vermilion  (Wisd.  xiii.  14).  It  was  a  pigment  made  of  red  ochre. 

The  prophet  Ezekiel  is  here  addressing  the  exiles,  who  were 
familiar  with  these  brightly  coloured  and  attractive  idolatrous 
pictures,  and  were  in  grave  danger  of  being  allured,  by  means  of 
them,  into  idolatrous  practices.  Rude,  high-coloured,  exciting 
pictures  have,  in  all  ages,  been  used  as  aids  to  immorality. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  says :  '  The  language  of  the  prophet  here  is 
very  strong ;  and  some  readers  may  recoil  from  it  with  horror  and 
aversion.  It  was  doubtless  designed  to  excite  such  feelings  as  these, 
and  has  a  solemn  and  seasonable  warning,  especially  for  times  like 
our  own,  when  there  seems  to  be  a  growing  tendency  towards  a 
sensual  religion  in  lieu  of  a  spiritual  one,  and  to  the  scenic  pomp 
of  creature  worship  and  idolatry.' 

The  Burning  Fieiy  Furnace. 

DANIEL  iii.  6  :  '  And  whoso  fallcth  not  down  and  \vorshippeth  shall  the  same 
hour  be  cast  into  the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery  furnace.' 

Question. — Is  there  any  historical  evidence  of  this  mode  of  execu- 
tion ? 

Answer. — The  Speakers  Commentary  gathers  up  the  testimony 
from  the  Assyrian  monuments  thus  :  *  Saul  Mugina,  the  king  of 
Babylonia,  is  recorded  as  rebelling  against  his  brother  Assurbanipal, 
and  making  war  with  him.  Saul  Mugina  was  defeated  and  taken 
prisoner.  He  was  condemned  to  death,  and,  by  the  order  of  his 
brother,  was  thrown  into  "a  burning  fiery  furnace."  The  same  fate 
overtook  Dunanu,  who  had  uttered  curses  against  the  gods  of 
Assurbanipal,  *'  over  a  furnace  they  placed  him,  and  consumed  him 
entirely."  The  celebrated  "  Inscription  of  Khorsabad  "  records  burn- 
ing and  flaying  as  punishments  inflicted  on  the  king  of  Hamath  and 
his  allies  (E.C.  714),  and  a  similar  fate  befell  Assourlih  (D.C.  712).' 

Chardin  (i7th  cent.  A.D.)  says  :  *  There  are  other  modes  of  inflict- 
ing the  punishment  of  death  (in  Persia),  on  those  who  have  violated 
the  police  laws,  especially  those  who  have  contributed  to  produce 
scarcity  of  food,  or  who  have  used  false  weights,  or  who  have  disre- 
garded the  laws  respecting  taxes.  The  cooks  were  fixed  on  spits, 
and  roasted  over  a  slow  fire,  and  the  bakers  were  cast  into  a  burning 
oven.  In  the  year  1668,  when  the  famine  was  raging,  I  saw,  in  the 


THE  LA  W  OF  LE  VI RATE  MARRIAGE.  213 

royal  residence  in  Ispahan,  one  of  these  ovens  burning,  to  terrify  the 
bakers,  and  to  prevent  their  taking  advantage  of  the  scarcity  to 
increase  their  gains.' 

The  custom  is  plainly  recognised  as  an  'established  one  in  .Jer. 

XXIX.   22. 

Ancient  furnaces  were  made  in  large  holes  dug  in  the  ground. 
For  cooking  purposes  these  had  stones  in  them,  which  long  retained 
the  heat,  upon  which  the  food  could  be  placed  when  the  flames  had 
subsided.  The  mode  of  blowing  such  fires  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
following  passage  from  Six  Years  in  India,  p.  93  :  'A  Kuli  came 
and  formed  a  little  furnace  close  to  the  verandah,  by  lighting  a  very 
small  fire  of  charcoal,  making  a  hole  about  two  feet  distant,  for  the 
nose  of  his  bellows,  which  were  of  the  skin  of  a  goat,  with  a  slit  at 
the  back  which  he  alternately  opened  and  closed,  and  connecting  the 
bellows  and  fire  by  a  little  underground  passage.' 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  this  mode  of  punishment  was  peculiar 
to  the  Babylonians,  and  is  illustrated  in  the  Chaldean  legend  of 
Abraham's  escape  from  Nimrod's  furnace.  When  the  kingdom 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Persians,  another  mode  of  punishment, 
as  distinctly  characteristic  of  them,  was  introduced,  that,  namely,  .of 
casting  men  alive  into  a  den  of  lions. 

The  Law  of  Levirate   Marriage. 

DEUTERONOMY  xxv.  5-10  :  'If  brethren  dwell  together,  and  one  of  them  die, 
and  have  no  child,  the  wife  of  the  dead  shall  not  marry  without  unto  a  stranger : 
her  husband's  brother  shall  go  in  unto  her,  and  take  her  to  him  to  wife,  and  per- 
form the  duty  of  an  husband's  brother  unto  her,'  etc. 

Difficulty. — Did  not  the  carrying  out  of  this  law  involve  senoiij 
peril  to  family  life  and  relationship  ? 

Explanation. — The  law  was  designed  for  a  family  system,  which 
recognised  polygamy  as  permissible.  Monogamy  was  the  Divine  idea 
for  the  race,  but  the  peculiar  way  in  which  various  families  live 
together  in  the  East,  and  form  one  household,  make  polygamy  a  pro- 
tection against  unbridled  licence  and  passion.  In  Western  lands 
members  of  families  on  becoming  wives,  or  on  taking  wives,  remove  to 
new  and  separate  dwellings ;  but  in  the  East  married  people  remain 
in  the  paternal  dwelling,  which  is  often  composed  of  grandparents, 
parents,  uncles  and  aunts,  brothers  and  sisters,  nephews  and  nieces ; 
and  some  careful  rules  were  needed  for  the  due  adjustment  of  the 
marital  relations  of  each  member,  and  the  preservation  of  the  rights 
and  honour  of  all. 


214      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

The  land  of  Canaan  was  divided  by  lot  to  the  several  families  com- 
posing the  tribes,  and  the  portion  of  land  allotted  to  a  family  was  not 
to  be  alienated  from  it,  but  was  to  be  kept  in  the  line  of  the  firstborn 
sons. 

But  cases  of  difficulty  would  be  sure  to  arise ;  exceptional  cases  in 
which  the  ordinary  working  of  the  law  could  not  be  assured,  and 
some  modified  arrangement  became  necessary.  Such  a  case  is 
brought  before  us  in  this  passage.  A  man,  eldest  born  of  a  family, 
and  so  its  heir,  may  marry  and  die,  leaving  no  child  to  preserve  his 
name  and  enter  into  his  rights.  The  widow  would  be  in  a  deplorable 
case ;  taunted  by  the  other  women  of  the  household  because  she  had 
no  child ;  despised  by  the  men  of  the  household  because  her  failure 
has  imperilled  the  family  estates ;  but  kept  in  the  family,  lest  by 
marrying  a  stranger  there  should  rise  disputes  about  her  first 
husband's  property.  Evidently,  for  her  own  sake,  and  for  the  sake 
of  the  family,  it  was  necessary  that  some  arrangement  should  be 
made  for  her  within  the  family  so  that  she  might  still  hope  to  become 
the  mother  of  the  family  heir.  The  Levirate  law  was  designed  to 
meet  the  difficulty. 

It  appears  that  the  law  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Jews,  but  familiar  to 
Eastern  nations.  '  It  is  found  in  all  essential  respects  the  same 
amongst  various  Oriental  nations,  ancient  and  modern,  and  exists  at 
present  amongst  the  South  African  tribes;  amongst  the  Arabians, 
amongst  the  Druses,  and  amongst  the  tribes  of  the  Caucasus.'  It  is 
characteristic  of  tribal  life  that  there  is  great  jealousy  of  marriage  out- 
side the  limits  of  the  tribe ;  and  there  is  no  sentiment  against  unions 
of  those  closely  related  such  as  we  cherish  in  Western  lands. 

For  the  operation  of  the  law  in  ante-Mosaic  times,  consult  the 
narrative  given  in  Gen.  xxxviii. ;  and  for  an  interesting  example  in 
the  time  of  the  Judges,  see  Ruth  ii.  20;  iii.  12,  13;  iv.  1-12. 

'  The  root  of  the  obligation  here  imposed  upon  the  brother  of  the 
deceased  husband  lies  in  the  primitive  idea  of  childlessness  being  a 
great  calamity,  and  extinction  of  name  and  family  one  of  the  greatest 
that  could  happen.  To  avert  this  the  ordinary  rules  as  to  inter- 
marriage are  in  the  case  in  question  set  aside.  The  obligation  was 
onerous,  and  might  be  repugnant,  and  it  is  accordingly  considerably 
reduced  and  restricted  by  Moses.  It  did  not  lie  at  all  unless  the 
brethren  "dwell  together:"  i.e.  unless  they  were  neighbours.  The 
surviving  brother  from  a  distant  home  was  not  to  be  expected  to 
fetch  the  widow,  or  perhaps  widows  and  household,  and  take  them  to 
himself.  It  would  seem  that  the  office  in  such  cases  devolved  on  the 
next  neighbouring  kinsman ;  or  perhaps  the  term  "  brethren  "  (ver.  5) 


THE  LA  W  OF  LE VI RATE  MARRIAGE.          215 

is  to  be  understood  in  its  more  general  sense  as  equivalent  to  "  kins- 
men." ' — Speaker's  Commentary. 

'No  betrothal  seems  to  have  been  necessary,  and  no  marriage 
ceremonies  were  observed ;  it  was  a  succession  by  divine  right  to  the 
wife,  with  all  the  possessions  of  the  deceased  to  the  child,  who  would 
be  the  heir.' 

Dr.  Eadie  says  :  *  The  purpose  of  the  law  was  to  preserve  the  strict 
entail  of  property,  and  to  guard  the  unity  of  the  tribes.  The  con- 
ditions plainly  are :  there  must  be  property  to  which  the  expected 
child  shall  "succeed."  The  brothers  must  occupy  a  contiguous 
tract  of  territory — "  dwell  together."  The  widow  must  not  be  past 
the  age  of  child-bearing,  for  the  purpose  of  the  marriage  was  to 
•"raise  up"  a  son  to  the  deceased  brother's  inheritance.1 

Dr.  Cox  gives  some  of  the  later  Jewish  modifications  of  the  law. 
*  When  there  were  several  brothers,  the  Mishna  states,  that  upon  the 
refusal  of  the  eldest,  application  was  to  be  made  to  the  rest ;  and  if 
•none  would  comply,  the  first  was  obliged  either  to  marry  the  widow, 
or  to  submit  to  the  prescribed  indignity.  By  the  Gemara,  both  the 
obligation  and  liberty  of  marrying  the  wife  of  a  deceased  brother  are 
restricted  to  the  eldest  of  the  surviving  brothers.  By  the  practice  of 
the  modern  synagogue  this  part  of  the  law  is  abolished  by  the  rabbis 
compelling  their  disciples  to  refuse  compliance  with  the  precept 
The  ceremony  of  release  from  the  obligation  is  performed  before  three 
rabbis  and  two  witnesses,  after  the  morning  prayers  in  the  synagogue. 
The  man  puts  on  a  shoe,  and  the  woman  repeats,  "  My  husband's 
brother  refuses  to  raise  up  unto  his  brother  a  name  in  Israel ;  he  will 
not  perform  the  duty  of  my  husband's  brother."  The  brother  says, 
44 1  like  not  to  take  her."  Then  the  woman  unties  the  shoe  with  her 
right  hand,  throws  it  on  the  ground,  spits  before  him,  and  says :  "  So 
shall  it  be  done  unto  the  man  that  will  not  build  up  his  brother's 
house ;  his  name  shall  be  called  in  Israel,  *  The  house  of  him  that 
hath  his  shoe  loosed.'"  The  persons  present  then  exclaim  three 
times,  "  His  shoe  is  loosed."  The  woman  then  receives  a  certificate 
from  the  chief  rabbi,  who  declares  her  at  liberty  to  marry  another/ 

Van  Lennep  tells  us  that,  '  among  Muslims  generally,  marriage  with 
a  brother's  widow  is  simply  allowed,  and  the  children  born  of  such  a 
connection  enjoy  no  special  privilege.  It  is,  however,  worthy  of 
notice  that  the  Mosaic  law  upon  this  subject  is  a  mere  repetition  of  a 
"  prior  law  "  already  existing  among  the  patriarchs.  The  only  trace 
now  left  of  such  a  law  among  other  nations  than  the  Jews  is  to  be 
met  with  in  the  customs  of  a  race  of  Airican  savages.  Bruce  relates 
that  among  the  Gallas,  a  warlike  heathen  people,  neighbours  and 


216      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

enemies  of  the  Abyssinians,  when  the  eldest  brother  dies  leaving 
younger  brothers  behind  him,  and  a  widow  young  enough  to  bear 
children,  the  youngest  brother  of  all  is  obliged  to  marry  her ;  but  the 
children  of  the  marriage  are  always  accounted  as  if  they  were  those  of 
the  eldest  brother ;  nor  does  this  marriage  of  the  youngest  brother  to 
the  widow  entitle  him  to  any  part  of  the  fortune  of  the  deceased. 
The  ground  of  this  law  among  the  Galla  tribes  appears  to  have  been 
originally  the  same  as  led  to  the  adoption  of  a  similar  practice  by  the 
Hebrews,  among  whom  the  principle  of  inheritance  became  an 
effectual  means  of  preventing  the  too  great  accumulation  of  real 
estate  in  an  agricultural  country,  and  the  prevalence  of  pauperism. 
For  with  those  African  savages,  when  a  man  becomes  old,  and  unfit 
for  war,  he  is  obliged  to  surrender  his  whole  effects  to  his  eldest  son 
who  is  bound  to  give  him  afimenr,  and  nothing  else.  These  people 
hold  to  the  rights  of  primogeniture  as  strictly  as  did  the  Israelites  in 
the  olden  time,  and  the  Arabs  after  them  until  Mohammed,  and 
among  some  tribes  even  to  the  present  day ;  but  the  Gallas  carry  it 
so  far  that  the  eldest  son  inherits  everything,  giving  to  his  brothers 
and  sisters  only  what  their  father  had  named  as  theirs  at  their  birth, 
with  the  increase  of  the  same  until  the  time  of  his  death/ — Bible 
Lands  and  Customs •,  p.  543. 

The  Two  Birds  of  the  Healed  Leper. 

LEVITICUS  xiv.  4-7  :  'Then  shajl  the  priest  command  to  take  for  htm  that  is 
to  be  cleansed  two  birds  '  (marg. '  sparrows ') '  alive  and  clean,  and  cedar-wood,  and 
scarlet,  and  hyssop  :  and  the  priest  shall  command  that  one  01  the  birds  be  killed 
in  an  earthen  vessel  over  running  water  :  as  for  the  living  bird,  he  shall  take  it, 
and  the  cedar  wood,  and  the  scarlet,  and  the  hyssop,  and  shall  dip  them  and  the 
living  bird  in  the  blood  of  the  bird  that  was  killed  over  the  running  water  :  and 
he  shall  sprinkle  upon  him  that  is  to  be  cleansed  irom  the  leprosy  seven  times, 
and  shall  pronounce  him  clean,  and  shall  let  the  living  bird  loose  in  the  open, 
field.' 

Question. — Had  this  ordinance  a  physical,  or  only  a  ritual  and- 
symbolical  relation  to  the  leper  ? 

Answer. — It  will  occur  at  once  to  the  mind  of  a  Bible  student, 
that  there  is  a  marked  similarity  between  the  treatment  of  these  two 
birds,  and  the  treatment  of  the  two  goats  on  the  great  Day  of  Atone- 
ment. This  indeed  appears  to  be  a  repetition  of  that  ordinance  in  a 
small  and  inexpensive  form.  But  a  more  careful  comparison  of  the 
two  rites  brings  to  view  a  marked  distinction  between  them.  The 
goat  was  killed  for  sacrifice,  but  the  sparrow  was  not.  And  this  dis- 
tinction has  led  ancient  commentators  to  see  in  this  ordinance  no 
more  than  a  public  and  formal  recognition  of  the  restored  health  of 


THE  TWO  BIRDS  OF  THE  HEALED  LEPER.     217 

the  leper.  The  relation  of  the  various  parts  of  the  ceremony  to  the 
leper  and  to  his  disease  is  well  brought  out  by  Abarbanel. 

'  The  living  bird,  according  to  him,  represented  the  restored  vigour 
and  freedom  of  the  vital  functions;  the  cedar-wood,  the  flesh  re- 
deemed from  decay  and  putrefaction  ;  the  scarlet,  the  purged  blood 
giving  the  hue  of  health  to  the  complexion  ;  and  the  hyssop,  deliver- 
ance from  the  fetor  which  is  characteristic  of  the  disease.  The 
details  of  a  restoration  to  health  and  freedom  appear  to  be  well  ex- 
pressed in  the  whole  ceremony.  Each  of  the  birds  represented  the 
leper.  They  were  to  be  of  a  clean  kind,  because  they  stood  for  one 
of  the  chosen  race.  The  death-like  state  of  the  leper  during  his 
exclusion  from  the  camp  was  expressed  by  the  killing  of  one  of  the 
birds.  The  living  bird  was  identified  with  the  slain  one  by  being 
dipped  in  his  blood  mixed  with  the  spring  water  that  figured  the  pro- 
cess 01  purification,  while  the  cured  leper  was  identified  with  the  rite 
by  having  the  same  water  and  blood  sprinkled  over  him.  The  bird 
then  liberated  leaves  behind  him  all  the  symbols  of  the  death  disease, 
and  of  the  remedies  associated  with  it,  and  is  free  to  enjoy  health 
and  social  freedom  with  its  kind/ — Speaker's  Commentary. 

This  explanation  is  so  simple,  so  reasonable,  and  so  sufficient,  that 
in  the  light  of  it  we  may  admit  the  physical  and  social,  rather  than 
the  strictly  religious,  significance  of  the  rite. 

We  add  two  specimens  of  the  way  in  which  the  physical  bearing  of 
the  rite  has  been  passed  over,  and  the  incidents  spiritualized  by  the 
ancient  Fathers  01  the  Christian  Church.  Theodoret  writes  in  this 
way  :  *  We  see  here  a  type  cf  the  Passion.  As  one  of  the  birds  was 
killed,  and  the  other,  having  been  bathed  in  the  blood  of  the  slain 
bird,  was  set  free,  so  our  Lord  was  crucified  in  His  humanity  for  the 
moral  leprosy  of  the  world;  and  His  human  flesh  suffered  death, 
while  the  Godhead  united  itself  to  the  suffering  of  His  humanity. 
As  the  leper  was  made  bright  when  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  the 
slain  bird,  mingled  with  living  water,  with  cedar,  hyssop,  and  scarlet, 
so  he  who  believes  in  Christ  our  Saviour,  and  is  washed  with  the 
water  of  Holy  Baptism,  is  cleansed  from  the  spots  of  sin.  The  cedar 
represents  the  incorruptibility  of  Christ;  the  oil  poured  on  the  right 
hand,  foot,  ear,  and  head,  signifies  the  consecration  of  all  our  members 
to  God's  service.  The  leper  was  to  be  without  the  camp ;  the  im- 
penitent sinner  is  to  be  put  out  of  the  Church.'  (Qu.  on  Levit.  19.) 

St.  Cyril  (Glaphyr.  in  Levit.,  p.  357)  says:  'The  leper  is  without 
the  camp ;  so  we,  when  infected  with  the  leprosy  of  sin,  were  aliens 
from  the  city  of  God.  The  priest  goes  forth  to  the  leper ;  Christ  has 
come  down  from  heaven  to  visit  us.  He  has  died  to  save  us.  This 


2i8      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

is  what  is  signified  by  the  two  birds.  They  represent  the  two  natures 
of  Christ.  The  birds  are  clean,  and  Christ  is  holy.  When  we  read 
of  two  birds,  let  us  not  dream  of  two  Christs.  No !  the  Only-begotten 
Son  of  God  took  our  nature  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  but  in 
what  manner  He,  who  is  truly  one  person,  consists  of  two  natures, 
the  Divine  and  human,  far  transcends  our  power  of  understanding. 
The  Holy  Spirit,  contemplating  these  two  natures,  speaks  of  two 
birds  joined  together.  The  cedar  is  an  emblem  of  the  incorruption 
of  His  holy  flesh.  The  hyssop  is  dipped  in  living  water,  typifying 
the  water  of  baptism.  The  living  bird  is  dipped  in  the  water,  in 
which  the  blood  of  the  other  bird  has  been  received,  because  one 
Christ  was  in  death  and  above  death  ;  for  "  He  was  put  to  death  in 
the  flesh,  and  was  quickened  by  the  Spirit"  (i  Pet.  iii.  18).  As 
far  as  He  was  man  He  endured  death,  but  in  that  He  is  the  Life  He 
conquered  it.' 

The  comparison  of  these  fanciful  and  extravagant  explanations 
with  the  suggestion  of  Abarbanel  helps  us  to  recognise  the  insight 
with  which  the  Jewish  commentator  reveals  to  us  the  original  and 
proper  significance  of  the  ceremony. 

Unique  Covenant  Signs. 

GENESIS  xv.  17  :  'And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  when  the  sun  went  down,  and  it 
was  dark,  behold  a  smoking  furnace,  and  a  burning  lamp,  that  passed  between 
those  pieces.' 

Question. — Are  there  any  helps  to  the  understanding  of  these 
singular  symbolical  actions  ? 

Answer. — The  only  Scripture  reference  to  a  similar  custom  is 
found  in  Jer.  xxxiv.  18,  19:  'And  I  will  give  the  men  that 
have  transgressed  My  covenant,  which  have  not  performed  the  words 
of  the  covenant  which  they  had  made  before  Me,  when  they  cut  the 
calf  in  twain,  and  passed  between  the  parts  thereof.'  This  passage 
recalls  the  fact  that  '  in  making  a  covenant  for  the  manumission  of 
their  Hebrew  servants,  the  men  of  Jerusalem  had  passed  through 
the  pieces  of  a  calf  (either  really  or  figuratively),  which  they  had  cut 
in  twain,  and  said  :  "  If  we  do  not  keep  the  covenant,  may  God  cut  us 
in  twain,  as  this  calf  is  cut  in  twain."  God  now  takes  them  at  their 
word,  and  will  execute  their  own  imprecation  on  their  own  heads.' 

Burder  records  the  various  references  to  a  similar  custom  found  in 
Eastern  and  Pagan  literature.  '  St.  Cyril,  in  his  tenth  book  against 
Julian,  derives  this  custom  from  the  ancient  Chaldeans.  Others 
derive  the  word  lirith,  which  signifies  "a  covenant,"  from  batar, 


UNIQ  UE  CO  YEN  A  NT  SIGNS.  2 1 9 

which  signifies  to  divide  or  cut  asunder,  because  covenants  were 
made  by  dividing  a  beast,  and  by  the  parties  covenanting  passing 
between  the  parts  of  the  beast  so  divided :  intimating  that  so  should 
they  be  cut  asunder  who  broke  the  covenant.  We  find  in  Zenobius, 
that  the  people  called  Molotti  retained  something  of  this  custom  ; 
for  they  confirmed  their  oaths,  when  they  made  their  covenants,  by 
cutting  oxen  into  little  bits.  For  whatever  purpose  a  covenant  was 
made,  it  was  ever  ratified  by  a  sacrifice  offered  to  God,  and  the 
passing  between  the  divided  pieces  of  the  victim  appears  to  have 
signified,  that  each  agreed,  if  they  broke  their  engagements,  to 
submit  to  the  punishment  of  being  cut  asunder.  Herodotus  tells  us 
that  Xerxes  ordered  one  of  the  sons  of  Pythius  to  be  cut  in  two,  and 
one  half  to  be  placed  on  each  side  of  the  way,  that  his  army  might 
pass  between  them.  At  the  Areopagus,  in  Athens,  the  parties  con- 
cerned in  any  legal  covenant  were  placed  between  the  severed 
members  of  consecrated  victims,  where  they  bound  themselves  and 
families  by  a  most  solemn  oath,  to  the  sacred  fulfilment  of  all  the 
stipulated  conditions  of  such  a  covenant.' 

The  following  illustration  is  taken  from  Pitt's  Travels.  *  If  they 
(the  Algerine  corsairs)  at  any  time  happen  to  be  in  a  very  great 
strait  or  distress,  as  being  chased,  or  in  a  storm,  they  will  gather 
money,  light  up  candles  in  remembrance  of  some  dead  marabout 
(saint),  or  other,  calling  upon  him  with  heavy  sighs  and  groans. 
If  they  find  no  succour  from  their  before-mentioned  rites  and  super- 
stitions, but  that  the  danger  rather  increases,  then  they  go  to  sacri- 
ficing a  sheep  (or  two  or  three  upon  occasion,  as  they  think  needful), 
which  is  done  after  this  manner :  having  cut  off  the  head  with  a 
knife,  they  immediately  take  out  the  entrails,  and  throw  them  and 
the  head  overboard  ;  and  then,  with  all  the  speed  they  can  (without 
skinning),  they  cut  the  body  in  two  parts  by  the  middle,  and  throw 
one  part  over  the  right  side  of  the  ship,  and  the  other  over  the  left 
into  the  sea,  as  a  kind  of  propitiation.'  The  ship  passes  between  the 
parts  thus  thrown  on  each  side  of  it. 

Rawlinson  says :  '  This  form  of  making  a  covenant  was  probably 
that  usual  in  Babylonia,  and  thus  Abraham  received  the  assurance  of 
his  inheritance  by  means  of  a  ceremonial  with  which  he  was  familiar. 
But  in  most  ancient  languages  men  are  said  to  cut  or  strike  a  cove- 
nant, because  the  most  solemn  formula  involved  either  the  cutting  of 
victims  in  two,  or  striking  them  dead,  as  was  the  Roman  manner.' 

The  animals  which  Abraham  divided  were  those  which  specially 
formed  the  staple  of  Abraham's  wealth  ;  they  were  also  those  which 
in  after-times,  were  specially  ordained  for  sacrificial  offering* 


220      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Roberts  well  illustrates  the  using  of  fire,  or  a  lamp,  in  the  ratifica- 
tion of  a  covenant.  'It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  burning  lamp 
or  fire  is  still  used  in  the  East  in  confirmation  of  a  covenant.  Should 
a  person  in  the  evening  make  a  solemn  promise  to  perform  some- 
thing for  another,  and  should  the  latter  doubt  his  word,  the  former 
will  say,  pointing  to  the  flame  of  the  lamp,  "That  is  my  witness." 
On  occasions  of  greater  importance,  when  two  or  more  join  in  a 
covenant,  should  the  fidelity  of  any  be  questioned,  they  will  say, 
"We  invoke  the  lamp  of  the  Temple."  When  an  agreement  of  this 
kind  is  broken,  it  will  be  said,  "  Who  would  have  thought  this,  for 
the  lamp  of  the  Temple  was  invoked  ?"  ' 

In  the  instance  before  us,  God  condescends  to  make  a  covenant 
with  the  Abrahamic  race,  in  the  person  of  its  founder  and  representa- 
tive, Abraham.  Both  parties  entering  into  the  covenant  are  present 
at  the  solemn  ratification  of  it.  Abraham  is  present  in  actual  person, 
and  takes  the  covenant  by  himself  passing  between  the  pieces.  God 
is  graciously  present  also,  but  in  His  familiar  symbol  of  smoke  and 
fire.  He  also  takes  the  covenant  by  moving  between  the  pieces. 
Each,  as  it  were,  takes  a  solemn  vow,  like  this — '  May  I  be  cut  in 
pieces  if  I  fail  to  keep  my  part  of  this  covenant !'  The  condescension- 
of  God  in  thus  meeting  Abraham  as  if  He  were  a  fellow-man,  should 
be  very  reverently  treated. 

Eastern  Sentiment  about  Women. 

ISAIAH  iii.  12  :  'As  for  My  people,  children  are  their  oppressors,  and  women, 
rule  over  them.' 

Question. —  What  was  the  prevalent  sentiment  about  women  which 
explains  this  figure  of  speech  ? 

Answer. — There  is  some  basis  for  the  figure  in  the  historical 
fact  that  the  queen  mother,  or  the  women  of  the  harem,  virtually 
ruled  during  the  childhood  of  a  king ;  but,  most  probably,  the  verse 
reflects  the  contempt  for  woman,  which  was  characteristic  of  ancient 
times  and  Eastern  countries,  and  which  accounts  for  the  weakness  of 
family  life,  and  the  insecurity  of  the  social  fabric.  In  Egypt,  in 
Rome,  there  was  respect  for  womanhood,  and  consequently  noble 
family  life ;  but  usually  in  Eastern  countries  woman  is  the  slave,  and 
not  the  friend,  of  man. 

Van  Lennep  illustrates  the  inferiority  of  woman  now  in  Eastern 
countries.  *  The  practice  of  polygamy,  combined  with  the  concu- 
binage of  slaves,  certainly  exerts  a  more  subtle  and  pernicious 
influence  than  is  generally  supposed.  It  perverts  the  relations  of  the 
sexes,  and  separates  them,  thus  depriving  each  of  the  wholesome 


EASTERN  SENTIMENT  ABOUT  WOMEN.        221 

influence  of  intercourse  with  the  other.  Promiscuous  assemblies  of 
men  and  women  are  unknown ;  and  even  when  a  crowd  collects  to 
see  some  sight,  or  gaze  at  a  show,  the  sexes  are  always  grouped  in 
two  distinct  and  separate  portions.  A  man  never  walks  in  the  street 
by  the  side  of  his  wife  or  daughter,  but  when  he  happens  to  be  out  in 
their  company,  is  sure  to  keep  several  paces  in  advance  of  them.  In 
speaking  of  his  wife  he  calls  her  his  house,  and  in  conversation  with 
other  men  prefixes  to  the  word  "woman,"  "wife,"  or  "daughter'"' 
(whenever  he  has  occasion  to  allude  to  either),  the  phrase  "  I  beg 
your  pardon,"  just  as  politeness  requires  him  to  do  before  mentioning 
the  words  garlic,  onion,  a  donkey,  or  a  hog.  When  a  man  is  absent, 
and  writes  to  his  family,  he  does  not  address  his  letter  to  his  wife,  but 
to  his  son,  though  his  son  may  be  a  babe  in  his  mother's  lap.  .  .  . 
Oriental  women  are,  as  a  class,  remarkably  industrious  and  thrifty. 
They  have  the  entire  charge  of  the  housekeeping,  the  daughters  and 
daughters-in-law  bearing  the  chief  burden,  and  they  wait  upon  their 
husbands  and  fathers  even  when  there  are  plenty  of  servants  and 
slaves.  Neither  they  nor  the  children  can  sit  in  his  presence  without 
his  special  invitation.  They  perform  all  manner  of  menial  services 
for  him,  light  his  pipe,  make  and  serve  his  coffee,  "  minister  to  him 
at  his  meals,  setting  on  meat,"  pouring  water  upon  his  hands,  and  even 
washing  his  feet.  He  eats  in  solitary  dignity,  or  in  company  perhaps 
with  his  older  sons,  after  which  the  women  retire  to  another  room  to 
partake  of  their  meal  with  the  younger  children.' 

Thomson,  in  Land  and  Book,  presents  this  inferiority  of  women 
very  forcibly.  'Oriental  women  are  never  regarded  or  treated  as 
equals  by  the  men.  This  is  seen  on  all  occasions ;  and  it  requires 
some  firmness  to  secure  to  our  own  ladies  proper  respect,  especially 
from  men-servants.  They  pronounce  women  to  be  weak  and  inferior 
in  the  most  absolute  terms,  and  in  accordance  with  this  idea  is  their 
deportment  towards  them.  It  is  very  common  to  see  small  boys  lord 
it  over  both  mothers  and  sisters  in  a  most  insolent  manner,  and  they 
are  encouraged  to  do  so  by  the  father.  The  evils  resulting  from  this 
are  incalculable.  The  men,  however,  attempt  to  justify  their  treatment 
ot  the  women  by  the  tyrant's  plea  of  necessity.  They  are  obliged  to 
govern  their  wives  with  the  utmost  strictness,  or  they  would  not  only 
ruin  their  husbands,  but  themselves  also.  Hence  they  literally  use 
the  rod  upon,  them.' 

Gadsby  says  :  '  All  the  servile  work  is,  in  the  East,  done  by  women. 
All  women  are  considered  so  much  inferior  to  men  that  they  are  not 
even  allowed  to  enter  a  mosque  during  the  times  of  prayer.  Few 
pray  at  all,  and  those  who  do  are  necessitated  to  pray  at  home. 
Ignorance  is  called  "a  woman's  jewel."' 


222      HANDBOOK  Of  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


The  Symbolical  Meaning  of  the  Shewbread. 

LEVITICUS  xxiv.  9  :  '  For  it  is  most  holy  unto  him  of  the  offerings  of  the  Lord 
made  by  fire  by  a  perpetual  statute.' 

Difficulty. — This  setting  up  of  loaves  in  the  holy  place  seems  to 
have  nothing  corresponding  to  it  in  later  religious  services.  Can,  then, 
the  ritual  significance  of  it  be  ascertained1? 

Explanation. — Dr.  Miligan,  in  Bible  Educator,  vol.  iii.,  p.  153, 
gives  the  following  valuable  and  satisfactory  passage :  '  Of  the 
(shewbread)  table  we  say  nothing.  Its  importance  is  derived  entirely 
from  that  of  the  bread  placed  upon  it ;  and  it  has  no  special  meaning 
of  its  own.  We  pass  at  once  to  the  loaves,  twelve  in  number,  an 
offering  of  the  "  most  holy  "  kind,  "  taken  from  the  children  of  Israel 
by  an  everlasting  covenant "  (ver.  8) ;  above  all,  "  the  shewbread " 
loaves,  or,  as  the  words  literally  mean,  the  bread  of  the  face,  or  of  the 
presence.  That  this  "  face,"  this  "  presence,"  is  that  of  God,  it  is 
impossible  to  doubt.  "Thou  shalt  set  upon  the  table  facebread 
before  my  face  alway  "  (Exod.  xxv.  30) ;  and  again,  "  For  there  was 
no  bread  there  but  the  facebread  that  was  taken  from  before  the  face 
of  the  Lord"  (i  Sam.  xxi.  6).  The  "face,"  therefore,  spoken  of  in 
the  term  for  the  shewbread  is  the  face  of  God,  and  the  bread  was  so 
named  because  it  was  set  immediately  before  Him  in  that  holy  part 
of  the  tabernacle  where  He  dwelt.  But  with  what  purpose,  with 
what  meaning,  was  it  thus  set  before  Him  ?  Two  answers  have  been 
given  to  the  question  :  the  first,  that  of  those  who  imagine  it  to 
represent  something  by  which  the  face  of  God  is  seen,  the  heavenly 
food  by  the  eating  of  which  man  attains  to  the  vision  of  God,  and 
enters  into  communion  and  fellowship  with  Him  ;  the  second,  that 
of  those  who  behold  in  it,  not  something  by  which  we  see  God,  but 
something  in  us  for  which  God  looks,  those  fruits  of  righteousness  in 
His  people  which  are  the  great  object  of  His  desire,  and,  when  pro- 
duced as  they  ought  to  be,  of  His  satisfaction  and  joy. 

'The  first  of  these  views  has  much  to  recommend  it,  and  is  capable 
of  being  presented  in  a  light  at  once  interesting  and  beautiful.  For 
the  shewbread  thus  becomes  the  symbol  of  Him  who  is  the  "  Bread 
of  Life,"  of  that  Only-begotten  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father, 
and  who  "  declares ''  to  us  that  God  whom  no  man  haj;h  seen  at  any 
time.  Partaking  of  Him,  His  people  "  behold  God's  face  in 
righteousness,"  and  have  realized  in  their  own  happy  experience  that 
in  "His  presence  there  is  fulness  of  joy,"  that  "at  His  right  hand 
there  are  pleasures  for  evermore."  They  are  His  priestly  people,  on 


SYMBOLICAL  MEANING  OF  THE  SHEWBREAD.  223. 

whom  all  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  are  bestowed,  and  who, 
therefore,  on  the  Sabbath,  that  day  which  is  peculiarly  the  sign  of 
the  covenant,  enter  into  the  symbolic  heaven,  and  there  eat 
heavenly  food. 

*  Much,  however,  as  may  be  said  for  this  view,  it  appears  liable  to 
objections  which  it  is  hardly  possible  to  overcome.     For,  in  the  first 
place,  the  outer  apartment  of  the  Tabernacle  is  not  really  that  part 
of  it  in  which  God  peculiarly  dwells.     He  is  within  the  veil,  and 
seeing  Him  as  He  is,  the  sight  of  Him  which  is  given  in  His  Son, 
is  reserved  for  that  stage  in  the  progress  of  His  Israel  when  the  veil 
is  withdrawn,  and  they  enter  into  the  inmost  and  most  holy  shrine. 
And  then,  in  the  second  place,  the  analogy  of  the  shewbread  with 
the  other  articles  of  furniture  in  the  place  where  it  stands  is  thus 
destroyed.     Both  the   golden  candlestick  and  the  altar  of  incense 
represent  what  passes  from  men  to  God  rather  than  what  passes 
from  God   to  men,  the  grace  indeed  coming  first  from  Him,  but 
afterwards  so  taking  up  its  abode  in  them  that  they  shine  with  sacred 
light,  and  fill  with  the  odour  of  sanctity  the  apartment  in  which  they 
live. 

*  We  must  fall  back,  then,  on  the  second  view  mentioned,  and 
must  see  in  the  shewbread  loaves  the   symbol   of  those   fruits  of 
righteousness  which  are  produced  in  the  lives  of  the  true  children  of 
the  covenant.     These  are  produced  first  of  all  in  Christ  Himself, 
whose  life  embodied  every  Christian  grace  and  excellence  in  its  most 
perfect  form,  who  in  action  exclaimed,   "  My  meat  is  to  do   My 
Father's  will,  anci  to  finish  His  work,"  and  in  suffering,  "  The  cup 
which  My  Father  hath  given  Me  to  drink,  shall  I  not  drink  it?" 
whose  earthly  course  was  one  continual  doing  good,  and  His  death  a 
returning  in  faith  and  hope  to  the  bosom  of  His  Father,  "  Father, 
into  Thy  hands  I  commend  My  spirit."     But,  thus  produced  in  Him, 
these  fruits  of  righteousness  are  produced  also  in  the  members  of 
His  body,  for  they  are  a  "  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  a 
fcoly  nation,  a  peculiar  people,  etc.  (i   Peter  ii.  9).     They  do  not 
merely  shine  with  the  light  of  Christian  knowledge  and  discernment;, 
they  are  also  faithful  in  all  "  good  works  "  (Titus  ii.  12-14).     Should 
it  still  seem  to  any  that  thus  the  eating  of  the  loaves  is  not  suffici- 
ent^ explained,  it  has  only  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  they  were  an 
"  offering,"  that  is,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  a  meat-offering,  and 
that  the  same  rule,  therefore,  was  applied  to  them  as  to  all  the  other 
meat-offerings  of  Israel  (Lev.  vi.  16). 

Ewald  considers  the  shewbread  to  *  have   maintained    itself  in 
Israel  out  of  an  altogether  remote  primitive  age,'     He  says :  *The 


224      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

simplest  mode  of  offering  a  sacrifice  of  property  was  from  the 
beginning  connected  with  the  liveliest  wish  to  prepare  therewith 
something  pleasing,  some  enjoyment  for  the  Deity.  Accordingly, 
the  sacrifices  which  arose  in  the  very  earliest  times,  were  entirely 
furnished  as  food-offerings ;  they  were  presented  as  meals  for 
gracious  acceptance.  Man  parted  with  his  own  most  delicious  food 
in  order  to  prepare  enjoyment  for  a  higher  being,  and  to  draw  forth 
thereby  a  blessing  over  the  earth ;  and  when  he  received  this 
blessing  from  Mother  Earth,  thankfulness  drove  him  to  make  ready  a 
portion  of  the  superabundance  for  a  similar  food-offering.  Exactly 
in  this  way  the  custom  arose  among  certain  nations  of  Western  Asia 
.and  Europe,  of  setting  out,  at  a  sacred  spot,  a  magnificent  table,  and 
replenishing  it  from  time  to  time  with  choice  provisions.  A  trace  of 
this  custom  remained  also  in  Israel  down  to  later  times.' 

Dr.  Cunningham  Geikie  gives  the  meaning  of  the  shewbread  in  a 
very  simple  form.  *  The  absolute  dependence  of  Israel,  alike  in  its 
tribes  and  as  a  whole,  and  of  man  as  a  race,  on  God,  for  daily  bread, 
•could  receive  no  more  fitting  acknowledgment ;  for  the  bread  of  the 
Presence  remained  before  Him  perpetually.' 

Bishop  Wordsworth  sets  the  matter  in  yet  another  light.  '  The 
.shewbread  represented  the  duty  of  the  people,  on  their  part,  to  set 
themselves  ever  before  God,  and  to  set  the  Lord  always  before  their 
face,  and  to  remember  His  continual  presence,  and  their  own  special 
duty  to  set  themselves  anew  before  Him  on  each  succeeding  Sabbath ; 
.and  they  exhibited  also  God's  continual  care  and  favour  towards  the 
.twelve  tribes  of  His  inheritance,  which  were  ever  before  Him,  and 
His  eye  ever  upon  them.' 

Bread,  being  the  staff  of  life,  is  taken  to  represent  that  which  it 
.sustains.  We  speak  of  their  milk  as  being  the  life  of  infants,  and  so 
bread  is  the  life  of  men,  and  may  stand  for  them  representatively. 
The  presentation  of  these  loaves  in  the  presence  of  God  symbolically 
indicated  man's  ever-renewed  act  of  giving  himself  to  God.  The 
spiritual  meaning  of  the  rite  is  in  some  sense  preserved  in  the  bread 
of  the  Christian  Sacrament 

Magicians,  Astrologers,  and  Sorcerers. 

DANIEL  ii.  2  :  '  Then  the  King  commanded  to  call  the  magicians,  and  the 
.  astrologers,  and  the  sorcerers,  for  to  show  the  King  his  dreams.' 

Question. — Are  not  these  several  names  for  the  same  class  oj 
persons? 

Answer. — The  carefulness  and  precision  of  Bible  narrative  is 
.  constantly  proved  afresh  as  knowledge  of  Eastern  life  and  custom 


MAGICIANS,  ASTROLOGERS,  AND  SORCERERS.  22-5 

increases.  Fuller  understanding  of  Babylonish  society  shows  that,  in 
Belshazzar's  time,  the  general  name  for  the  class  of  persons  mentioned 
in  the  text  was  Khakamim,  or  'wise  men'  (see  ver.  12).  But 
these  were  divided  into  three  classes  :  i.  Assaphim,  or  theosophists  ; 
2.  Casdim,  or  astrologers;  and  3.  Gazerim,  or  soothsayers.  Thest: 
were  separate  sections  of  one  guild. 

Some  accounts  make  four  classes,  adding  the  Khartummim,  or 
magicians.  The  distinct  department  of  study  and  work  for  each  of 
these  classes  can  only  now  be  marked  out  with  uncertainty. 

The  Khartummim  repulsed  '  by  their  incantations,  prayers,  and 
ex'en  imprecations,  the  demons  and  evil  spirits.  The  form  of  their 
conjuration  and  exorcism  may  almost  be  said  to  have  been  stereo- 
'.yped.  The  existing  specimens  begin  with  an  enumeration  of  the 
evil  spirits  to  be  conjured,  and  their  power  is  qualified  and  decried. 
This  is  followed  by  the  prayer  that  the  person  praying  or  prayed  for 
may  be  preserved  from  their  evil  influences  and  action;  and  the  whole 
closes  with  an  invocation,  sometimes  to  a  vast  number  of  gods  and 
goddesses,  but  always  to  "  the  spirit  of  heaven,"  and  the  "  spirit  of 
earth,"  to  remember  the  petitioner.  They  were  in  the  habit  of  using 
music  in  their  incantations.' 

The  Assaphim  were  so  called  from  the  breathing  or  muttering 
manner  in  which  they  are  supposed  to  have  spoken.  '  In  the  time  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  even  long  before,  these  "  theosop-hists "  were 
accredited  with  a  spiritual  perception  of  spiritual  things,  which  made 
them  the  recognised  ministers  of  the  communion  between  man  and 
the  supernatural  beings  who  surrounded  him.' 

The  Casdim,  as  astrologers,  'would  be  considered  the  chosen 
interpreters  of  the  signs,  omens,  and  dreams,  by  which  the  gods 
revealed  their  will.'  Sometimes  the  term  is  used  generally,  and 
includes  the  other  classes. 

The  Gaseri/u,  or  soothsayers,  were  '  men  who  divided  the  heavens 
into  Spheres,  etc.,  and  divined  or  determined  omens ;  or  to  connect 
the  word  with  the  Kazir  of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions,  who  collected 
the  laws  Oi  astrological  phenomena  and  portents,  and  pronounced 
upon  them.' 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  adds  :  '  These  were  the  classes  which 
presented  themselves  before  Nebuchadnezzar  to  "  show  "  (interpret) 
Ls  dream  ii  he  would  but  tell  it  to  them ;  or  drive  away  by  their 
hymns  and  exorcisms  the  evil  spirit  which  "troubled"  their  royal 
;aaster.  If  there  is  still  some  indistinctness  in  allotting  to  each  of 
these  classes  Us  special  position  in  the  scientific  hierarchy,  it  is  due 
(L)  to  the  fact  that  these  classes  were  not  exclusive,  but  frequently 


226      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

overlapped  each  other ;  and  (2)  to  the  little  help  which  the  versions 
— notably  the  Greek  versions — give  with  reference  to  a  system 
thoroughly  strange  to  the  times  in  which  they  were  compiled.  Were 
it  not  for  cuneiform  discovery,  the  English  reader  would  still  be  in 
darkness  about  the  subject.' 

Captive  Women  to  pare  their  Nails. 

DEUTERONOMY  xxi.  12  :  'Thou  shalt  bring  her  home  to  thine  house;  and  she 
shall  shave  her  head,  and  pare  her  nails  ;  and  she  shall  put  the  raiment  of  her 
captivity  from  off  her.' 

Difficulty. —  What  precise  act  was  thus  required,  and  what  relation 
could  it  bear  to  the  womaris  new  condition  ? 

Explanation. — The  difficulty  of  this  verse  is  partly  occasioned 
by  the  uncertainty  of  the  translation.  The  margin  of  our  Bible  gives 
'  suffer  to  grow,'  which  is  the  very  opposite  of  *  paring.'  The  original 
Hebrew  term  means  '  to  make,  or  to  dress.'  Whatever  the  woman 
was  to  do  to  her  nails,  the  act  must  be  in  harmony  with  the  other 
acts  required  of  her.  Two  distinct  explanations  have  been  offered, 
but  preference  is  to  be  given  to  the  latter  of  the  two.  The  Speakers 
Commentary  says :  *  We  can  scarcely  doubt  that  the  shaving  the  head 
(a  customary  sign  of  purification,  Lev.  xiv.  8. ;  Num.  viii.  7),  and  the 
putting  away  "the  garment  of  her  captivity,"  must  be  designed  to 
signify  the  translation  of  the  woman  from  the  state  of  a  heathen  and 
a  slave  to  that  of  a  wife  amongst  the  covenant  people.  Consistency 
seems  then  to  require  that  she  should  "  pare,"  not  "  suffer  to  grow," 
her  nails ;  and  thus,  so  far  as  possible,  lay  aside  all  Belonging  to  her 
condition  as  an  alien.  This  rendering  of  the  word  is  strongly  sup- 
ported by  2  Sam.  xix.  24.'  Bishop  Wordsworth  takes  the  same  view, 
and  says :  '  The  ceremonial  here  prescribed,  which  was  like  a  purifica- 
tion from  Gentilism,  would  also  be  a  test  of  the  sincerity  of  the 
affection  of  the  Israelite  for  her,  as  depriving  her  of  some  of  the 
external  ornaments  of  beauty,  especially  her  hair.' 

Jamiesons  explanation,  which  is  the  more  probable  one,  is  as 
follows :  '  According  to  the  war  customs  of  all  ancient  nations,  a 
female  captive  became  the  slave  of  the  victor,  who  had  the  sole  and 
unchallengeable  control  of  right  to  her  person.  Moses  improved  this 
existing  usage  by  special  regulations  on  the  subject.  He  enacted 
that,  in  the  event  of  her  master  being  captivated  by  her  beauty,  and 
contemplating  a  marriage  with  her,  a  month  should  be  allowed  to 
elapse,  during  which  her  perturbed  feelings  might  be  calmed,  her 
mind  reconciled  to  her  altered  condition,  and  she  might  bewail  the 


CAPTIVE  WOMEN  TO  PARE  THEIR  NAILS.     227 

loss  of  her  parents,  now  to  her  the  same  as  dead.  A  month  was  the 
usual  period  of  mourning  with  the  Jews,  and  the  circumstances 
mentioned  here  were  the  signs  of  grief— the  shaving  of  the  head — the 
(not  "paring",  but,  literally,  "doing")  allowing  the  nails  to  grow 
uncut,  the  putting  off  her  gorgeous  dress,  in  which  ladies  on  the  eve 
of  being  captured  arrayed  themselves  to  be  the  more  attractive  to 
their  captors.  The  delay  was  full  of  humanity  and  kindness  to  the 
female  slave,  as  well  as  a  prudential  measure  to  try  the  strength  of  her 
master's  affections.  If  his  love  should  afterwards  cool,  and  he 
become  indifferent  to  her  person,  he  was  not  to  lord  it  over  her, 
neither  to  sell  her  in  the  slave-market,  nor  retain  her  in  a  subordinate 
condition  in  his  house ;  but  she  was  free  to  go  where  her  inclinations 
led  her.' 

The  passage  is  a  very  remarkable  instance  of  Moses'  method  of 
raising,  improving,  and  giving  tone  to,  existing  customs.  Only  when 
.a  prevailing  custom  was  morally  evil  did  Moses  entirely  remove  it 
Usually  he  kept  the  custom,  elevating  it,  and  relieving  it  of  any  undue 
pressure  it  might  make  on  individuals.  So  here,  the  Israelites  might 
take  to  themselves  the  captive  women,  as  other  nations  did ;  but  they 
must  treat  them  considerately,  and  nobly,  not  injuring  them  by  any 
outbursts  of  uncontrolled  passion. 

Man  and  Beast  in  Sackcloth. 

JONAH  iti.  8 :  '  But  let  man  and  beast  be  covered  with  sackcloth,  and  cry 
mightily  unto  God.' 

Question. — In  what  sense  could  the  animals  share  with  man  in 
an  act  of  national  repentance  2 

Answer. — In  Bible  history  the  domesticated  animals  are  always 
treated  as  sharing  in  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  rewards  and  punish- 
ments of  man.  The  family  and  the  substance  are  treated  as  a 
whole,  and  man  is  affected  through  his  property  and  possessions.  It 
is  only  in  harmony  with  this  idea  that  the  domestic  animals  should 
rshare  in  the  outward  signs  and  expressions  of  mourning.  The  idea 
is  indeed  not  strange  in  Western  and  modern  nations,  for  horses  and 
other  animals  are  gaily  caparisoned  in  times  of  national  triumph  and 
joy,  and  are  dressed  with  black  plumes  and  velvets  in  times  of 
funeral.  The  Psalmist  calls  upon  all  animate  and  inanimate  things 
to  join  him  in  praising  the  Lord ;  and  it  is  but  the  obverse  of  this 
that  they  should  join  him  in  the  wailings  of  his  seasons  of  penitence 
.and  humiliation.  It  may  be  added  that  the  public  acts  of  a  nation 
.-should  be  acts  in  which  all  the  nation  openly  and  evidently  joins. 

T— 2 


228      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Speaker's  Commentary  says  :  '  In  reference  to  the  beasts  which  are 
here  alluded  to,  probably  those  animals  only  are  contemplated  which 
were  wont  to  wear  harness,  such  as  horses,  asses,  mules,  camels,  and 
draught  oxen.  In  all  ages  men  have  been  wont,  on  occasion,  to  put 
upon  such  animals  trappings  suited  to  the  particular  season,  whether 
in  rejoicings,  or  (as  among  ourselves)  at  funerals.  Commentators 
further  refer  to  particular  instances  in  which  other  shows  of  mourn- 
ing have  been  extended  to  them.  The  Persians,  when  mourning  for 
Masistius,  not  only  cut  off  their  own  hair,  but  that  also  of  their 
horses  and  draught  beasts,  "  according  to  their  custom,"  says  the 
historian ;  Alexander  the  Great  ordered  the  like  to  be  done  in  honour 
of  Hephsestion ;  so  did  the  Thessalians  and  their  allies  at  the  death 
of  Pelopidas.  The  remarkable  peculiarity  of  the  case  before  us  con- 
sists in  the  fact,  that  the  garb  of  penitence  was  put  upon  beasts  in 
order  that  they  might  thus  help  in  placating  Heaven/ 

Bishop  Wordsworth  says  :  '  The  King  of  Nineveh  declared  his 
consciousness  of  a  great  truth,  that  by  the  Providence  of  God,  the 
destinies  of  the  animal  creation,  whether  for  joy  or  sorrow,  whether 
for  action  or  suffering,  are  linked  in  a  mysterious  chain  of  sympathy 
with  those  of  man.' 

Dean  Stanley,  in  describing  the  effects  of  Jonah's  testimony,  says : 
'  The  remorse  for  the  wrong  and  robbery  and  violence  of  many 
generations  is  awakened.  The  dumb  animals  are  included,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  East,  in  the  universal  warning,  and  the  Divine  decree 
is  revoked.' 

Kitto  says :  *  It  seems  a  remarkable  circumstance,  that  the  Nine- 
vites  should  have  extended  the  acts  of  fasting  and  humiliation  to 
their  cattle.  We  find  nothing  of  this  among  the  Hebrews ;  but  it 
was  a  custom  among  the  ancient  heathen  nations  to  withhold  food 
from  their  cattle,  as  well  as  from  themselves,  in  times  of  mourning 
and  humiliation,  and  in  some  instances  they  cut  off  the  hair  of  their 
beasts,  as  well  as  their  own.' 

Wearing  of  Amulets. 

DEUTERONOMY  vi.  8,  9  :  '  And  them  shalt  bind  them  for  a  sign  upon  thine 
hand,  and  they  shall  be  as  frontlets  between  thine  eyes.  And  thou  shalt  write 
them  upon  the  posts  of  thy  house,  and  on  thy  gates.' 

Difficulty. —  Was  not  this  sanctioning  the  idolatrous  custom  of 
wearing  amulets  and  charms  ? 

Answer. — In  studying  the  Mosaic  social  and  religious  system,  it* 
is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  it  was  not  absolutely  original.  Itj 
recognised  existing  habits,  sentiments,  and  ritual  practices.  If 


WEARING  OF  AMULETS.  229. 

seldom  demanded  their  entire  removal ;  but,  allowing  them  to 
continue,  it  so  modified  them  as  to  check  the  evil  influences  which 
they  might  exert,  and  make  them  helpful  to  that  which  is  good. 

The  Eastern  people  are  gravely  superstitious,  and  the  use  of 
charms  and  amulets  is  mischievously  widespead  at  the  present  day. 
Of  this  one  or  two  illustrations  may  be  given.  Van  Lennep,  who 
•was  for  years  a  missionary  in  Asia  Minor,  says  :  *  Orientals  believe  in 
charms,  spells,  and  talismans,  chiefly  consisting  of  the  names  of  certain 
saints,  or  Jins,  or  of  fancifal  and  senseless  formulas,  written  upon  a 
piece  of  paper  or  parchment.  This  is  kept  in  a  case  of  silver  or 
gold,  or  more  commonly  served  up  in  a  small  cloth  bag,  an  inch 
long,  and  hung  round  the  neck,  or  fastened  to  the  leathern  girdle 
which  every  Bedawy  wears  about  his  waist  next  to  the  skin.  They 
have  great  dread  of  the  "  evil-eye."  Envy  or  jealousy  are  believed 
to  endow  a  single  glance  with  a  deadly  venom  ;  and  some  persons,  it 
is  thought,  thus  inflict  injury  quite  unintentionally.  It  is  certainly  a  very 
annoying  superstition,  to  say  the  least.  Upon  the  walls  of  a  new 
house  must  be  written,  in  large  characters,  in  some  conspicuous 
place,  the  word  "  Mashallah  "  (Praise  be  to  God),  lest  a  glance  of  admi- 
ration doom  it  to  the  flames,  or  bring  a  blight  upon  its  inmates.  The 
dread  of  the  evil-eye  exists  among  all  classes  and  in  every  religious 
sect ;  and  though  no  direct  allusion  to  it  occurs  in  the  Scriptures,  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  it  generally  prevailed  among  the  Hebrews, 
as  well  as  among  their  heathen  neighbours.  Indeed,  some  of  the 
Mosaic  precepts  are  best  explained  by  supposing  that  they  were 
chiefly  intended  to  counteract  such  a  superstition." 

Thomson,  in  his  Land  and  Book,  says  :  '  Perhaps  the  superstition 
most  common  at  present  is  that  of  charms.  People  of  every  rank 
and  station  in  society,  and  of  every  creed  and  sect,  employ  them  for 
themselves,  their  children,  their  houses,  their  horses,  and  cattle,  and 
even  for  their  fruit-trees.  Amulets  and  charms  are  hung  round  the 
neck,  or  hid  away  in  the  bosom ;  they  are  suspended  from  the  arch 
of  a  newly-built  house ;  they  dangle  from  the  throat  of  horses  and 
•cattle;  and  fig  and  other  trees  have  cabalistic  signs  drawn  upon 
tnem,  to  guard  against  the  evil-eye.  The  charms  most  in  repute 
among  all  sects  are  brief  sentences  from  their  religious  books,  written 
with  certain  formalities,  and  frequently  accompanied  with  cabalistic 
•diagrams,  drawn  by  those  skilled  in  these  magic  mysteries.  I  have 
examined  many  of  them.  They  are  sewed  up  in  small  sacks,  gener- 
ally heart-shaped,  and  suspended  from  the  tarbush  of  infants,  round 
the  necks  of  larger  children,  and  about  grown-up  people  according  to 
their  particular  fancy.  Like  nostrums  in  medicine,  these  amulets  are 


230     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULIIES. 

believed  to  defend  the  wearer  from  sickness  and  accidents,  from  the 
malice  of  enemies,  from  balls  in  a  battle,  from  robbers  by  the  way, 
from  the  evil-eye,  evil  spirits,  and,  in  short,  from  every  species  of 
calamity.' 

Compare  Lane's  Modern  Egypt>  c.  1 1 ;  and  Livingstone's  Travels 
p.  285,  et passim. 

In  the  Mosaic  regulations  concerning  amulets  two  things  seem  to 
have  been  designed,  i.  To  place  the  superstitious  sentiment  under 
strict  and  precise  limitations.  If  certain  signs  were  allowed,  it  must 
be  understood  that  no  other  could  be  recognised  as  lawful  or 
useful.  2.  To  associate  the  idea  of  protection  from  danger  directly 
with  Jehovah,  and  Jehovah  alone,  and  to  fix  permanently,  in  the 
minds  of  the  people,  the  connection  between  preservation  and  obedi- 
ence to  Jehovah's  will. 

Some  think  that  the  injunctions  of  Moses  are  to  be  understood 
metaphorically ;  and  that  he  only  meant  they  were  to  keep  the  facts 
of  the  Passover  and  Exodus  continually  in  mind  ;  and  to  have  them 
present  as  though  they  were  inscribed  on  papyrus  or  parchment 
fastened  on  the  wrist,  or  on  the  face  between  the  eyes.  The  modem 
Jews  are  therefore  regarded  as  wholly  wrong  when  they  allege  this 
precept  as  a  justification  for  the  use  of  phylacteries.  Bishop  Words- 
worth replies  to  this  explanation  by  saying :  l  Doubtless  Moses 
prescribed  external  memorials ;  and  the  opinion  which  regards  this 
precept  as  merely  figurative  seems  inadmissible.  Indeed,  the  figura- 
tive expressions  in  Prov.  iii.  3;  vi.  21;  vii.  3,  "Bind  them  (my 
precepts)  round  thy  neck,  on  thy  heart,  on  thy  hand,"  presuppose 
literal  practices,  from  which  the  metaphor  was  derived.' 

The  extravagances  of  later  times  should  not  prejudice  us  against 
the  original  Mosaic  injunction,  so  that  we  fail  to  discern  the  practical 
wisdom  of  it,  as  guiding  public  sentiment,  and  familiar,  but  imperil- 
ing, practices  aright. 

It  may  be  added,  further,  that  these  requirements  of  Moses  are  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  plan  of  testing  heart-obedience  by  formal 
commandments  in  small  things,  which  is  the  marked  characteristic 
of  the  earlier  forms  of  Divine  training  for  men. 

Casting  a  Cord   by   Lot. 

MlCAH  ii.  5  :  *  Therefore  thou  shall  have  none  that  shall  cast  a  cord  by  lot  in 
the  congregation  of  the  Lord.' 

Question. —  What  ancient  custom  is  referred  to  in  this  threatening? 

Answer. — The  parties  addressed  in  this  verse  are  the  'covetous 

oppressors,'  referred  to  in  verse  2,  who  '  covet  fields,  and  take  them  by 


CASTING  A   CORD  BY  LOT,  23! 

violence ;  and  houses,  and  take  them  away/  And  the  idea  seems  to 
be,  that  such  persons  shall  not  in  any  way  gain  the  Divine  recognition 
of  their  wrongdoing;  none  by  authority  of  God  shall  measure  out 
their  land  for  them,  or  cast  lots  so  as  to  secure  them  in  their  covetous 
possessions. 

The  figure  in  the  verse  is  evidently  taken  from  the  original  division 
of  the  land  of  Canaan  among  the  tribes  and  families  by  lot.  The 
several  portions  were  measured  by  casting  a  cord  over,  or  round 
them,  and  the  measured  portions  were  allocated  to  families  by  lot. 
The  expression  means  this :  '  None  of  you  shall  have  any  possession 
measured  out?  (See  Deut.  xxxii,  8,  9.) 

The  Revised  Version  reads,  'None  that  shall  cast  the  line  by  lot.' 
The  generation  would  be  such  a  godless  one,  that  there  would  not  be 
one  to  make  reasonable  claim  to  a  portion  of  the  Lord's  inheritance. 
By  covetousness  and  violence  they  had  forfeited  all  right  to  the 
'  portion  of  Jehovah's  people.' 


The  Rule  for  the   Nazarite's  Hair. 

NUMBERS  vi.  18  :  'And  the  Nazarite  shall  shave  the  head  of  his  separation  at 
the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  and  shall  take  the  hair  of  the  head 
of  his  separation,  and  put  it  in  the  fire  which  is  under  the  sacrifice  of  the  peace- 
offerings.' 

Question. —  What  reason  can  be  given  for  the  importance  attached 
to  the  Nazaritfs  hair  / 

Answer. — Particular  sentiments  were  connected  with  the  hair  by 
Eastern  people,  and  the  regulations  of  the  Nazarite  vow  were  made  in 
accordance  with  those  sentiments. 

Dressing  the  hair  was  a  sign  of  self-respect,  and  of  care  for  personal 
appearance.  It  indicated  that  a  man  was  fully  maintaining  family 
and  social  relations,  and  that  he  was  under  no  physical  or  religious 
disability.  No  man  without  well-dressed  hair  would  be  free  to  mingle 
in  social  intercourse  with  others.  The  Egyptians  allowed  the  women 
to  wear  their  hair  long,  but  kept  the  heac's  of  men  closely  shaved 
from  early  childhood.  The  Greeks  admired  long  hair,  whether  in 
men  or  women,  as  is  evident  in  the  representations  of  their  divinities, 
especially  Bacchus  and  Apollo,  whose  long  locks  were  a  symbol  of 
perpetual  youth.  The  Assyrians  also  wore  it  long,  the  flowing  curls 
being  gathered  together  in  a  heavy  cluster  on  the  back,  as  represented 
in  the  sculptures  of  Nineveh.  But  it  is  particularly  to  be  observed 
that  the  Hebrews,  while  they  encouraged  the  natural  growth  of  hair, 
observed  the  natural  distinction  between  the  sexes  by  allowing  the 


2^2      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

women  to  wear  it  long,  while  the  men  restrained  theirs  by  frequent 
clippings  to  a  moderate  length.  With  the  Hebrews,  wearing  the  hair 
long,  neglecting  the  ordinary  clippings  and  dressings,  was,  as  Ligkt- 
Joot  tells  us,  *a  sign  of  humiliation  and  self-denial,  and  of  a  certain 
religious  slovenliness.'  A  man  under  religious  vow  is  supposed  to  be 
absorbed  in  the  particular  thing  to  which  he  is  pledged,  that  he 
cannot  attend  even  to  his  own  personal  appearance.  He  is  separated 
from  common  life  for  the  time  of  his  vow,  separated  to  the  matter 
concerning  which  he  has  vowed,  and  the  sign,  which  everybody  can 
recognise,  is  his  unpolled  neglected  hair. 

Cutting  or  shaving  the  head  is,  then,  the  public  act  which  indicates 
the  closing  of  the  period  of  the  vow,  and  the  resumption  of  the 
ordinary  social  relations,  and  the  hair  which  had  grown  during  the 
period  of  the  vow  was  naturally  regarded  as  sacred,  and  was  solemnly 
burnt  in  the  sacrificial  fire  of  the  peace-offerings. 

The  Speakers  Commentary,  in  loc.,  gives  several  instances  of  the 
religious  significance  associated  with  the  hair  in  ancient  times,  and  in 
very  diverse  countries.  *  St.  Paul  is  said  to  have  "  shorn  "  (the  word 
should  rather  be  "  polled  ")  his  head  in  Cenchrea  because  he  had  a 
vow'  (Acts  xviii.  18).  The  many  and  various  observances  con- 
nected with  the  hair  may  be  traced  back  to  the  estimation  attached 
to  a  profuse  growth  of  it.  Peleus  (Iliad,  xxiii.  142,  sqq.)  dedicates  a 
lock  of  Achilles'  hair,  and  vows  to  shear  it  on  the  safe  return  of  his 
son  from  the  Trojan  war.  Achilles,  after  the  death  of  Patroclus,  cuts 
off  this  sacred  lock,  and  in  course  of  the  funeral  rites  places  it  in  the 
hand  of  his  dead  friend.  Examples  are  found  of  vows  symbolized  -by 
particular  modes  of  cropping,  or  partially  shaving  off  the  hair,  as 
amongst  the  Egyptians  (Herod,  ii.  65).  The  casting  of  hair  from  the 
forehead  of  victims  into  the  flame  as  an  earnest  of  the  sacrifice  about 
to  be  offered  is  mentioned  (Iliad  xix.  254 ;  Virgil,  ^Eneid  vl  245). 
Very  apposite  to  the  passage  at  the  head  of  this  paragraph  is  Koran 
ii.  192  :  'Perform  the  pilgrimage,  and  shave  not  your  heads  until 
your  offering  reaches  the  place  of  sacrifice;'  and  Morier  (Second 
Journey  into  Persia,  p.  117) :  *  After  the  birth  of  a  son,  if  the  parent 
be  in  distress,  or  the  child  be  sick  ....  the  mother  makes  a  vow 
that  no  razor  shall  come  upon  the  child's  head  for  a  certain  time,  or 
for  life  (cf.  i  Sam.  i.  n).  If  the  child  recovers,  and  the  vow  be  but 
for  a  time,  so  that  the  mother's  vow  be  fulfilled,  then  she  shaves  his 
head  at  the  end  of  the  time  prescribed,  makes  an  entertainment, 
collects  money  and  other  things  from  her  relations,  which  are  sent  as 
Nezers  (offerings)  to  the  mosque.' 


AGRICULTURAL  EFFECTS  OF  SABBATICAL  YEAR.  23$ 

The  Agricultural  Effects  of  the  Sabbatical  Year. 

LEVITICUS  xxv.  4 :  '  In  the  seventh  year  shall  be  a  sabbath  of  rest  unto  the 
and,  a  sabbath  for  the  Lord  :  thou  shalt  neither  sow  thy  field,  nor  prune  thy 
vineyard.' 

Difficulty. — Surely   the  loss   of  a  year's   harvesting  must  have 
proved  seriously  disturbing  to  national  life. 

Explanation. — Due  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  Sabbatical 
element  in  the  Mosaic  system.  Its  physical,  moral,  educational, 
and  religious  significance  deserve  careful  study,  and  in  this  line  of 
study  some  of  the  gravest  difficulties  of  the  Mosaic  system  find  ex- 
planation. The  central  idea  of  that  system  seems  to  be  that  every- 
thing a  Jew  had  was  really  God's,  and  only  his  upon  trust,  for  God's 
use  and  service.  The  land,  the  crops,  property,  family,  time,  all 
were  God's.  But  such  a  truth  would  need  to  be  constantly  held  up 
before  the  people.  It  was  one  that  would  very  readily  be  dimmed 
and  lost.  The  Jew  was  therefore  required  to  show  that  he  held  all 
for  God  by  devoting  entirely  to  Him  certain  parts.  Thus,  that  all  his 
time  was  God's  he  testified  by  giving  wholly  to  Him  and  His 
worship  a  seventh  part.  So  here,  in  relation  to  the  harvests  of  the 
soil,  he  declared  that  all  was  God's  by  giving  to  God  the  produce  of 
one  year  in  seven  :  in  that  Sabbatical  year  the  Jew  took  nothing  for 
self  uses. 

Very  remarkable  are  two  things  :  (i)  The  entireness  of  the  way  in 
which  the  idea  of  *  lying  fallow,'  on  the  Sabbatical  year,  was  carried 
out.  It  applied  to  vineyards  and  fruit-gardens,  as  well  as  to  the 
corn-lands.  And  (2)  the  liberty  given  to  cattle,  wild  and  tame,  to 
cat  freely  all  the  produce  that  grew  of  itself  during  the  year. 

As  modifying  the  mischievous  consequences  which  we  may 
imagine  would  result  from  such  an  arrangement,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered (i)  that,  in  the  absence  of  scientific  farming,  fallows  were 
absolutely  necessary  if  the  producing  power  of  the  soil  was  to  be 
conserved.  Without  some  regularly  working  laws,  to  which  all  must 
conform,  the  greed  of  individuals  would  lead  to  the  exhaustion  of 
Jehovah's  land.  In  the  earlier  agriculture  of  England,  landowners 
made  conditions  with  their  farm-tenants  that  a  certain  number  of 
acres  should  lie  fallow  every  year.  Modern  scientific  farming,  which 
restores  to  the  soil,  in  the  shape  of  chemical  manures,  precisely  the 
elements  which  the  growth  of  a  particular  crop  has  abstracted, 
has  made  fallow  laws  obsolete.  (2)  It  should  also  be  observed  that 
as  the  Sabbatical  year  was  a  regular  and  well-known  national  arrange- 
ment, all  due  provision  was  made  for  it,  and  a  sufficient  proportion 


234     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

of  the  six  years'  harvests  was  stored  up  against  the  emergency.  And 
(3)  it  is  in  full  harmony  with  the  whole  spirit  of  the  Mosaic  revela- 
tion that  there  should  be  such  a  recurring  test  of  faithfulness  to  the 
covenant,  by  a  formal  injunction. 

Ewald  explains  the  appointment  of  the  Sabbatical  year  in  a  very 
interesting  way.  *  That  the  soil  (especially  if,  as  was  the  case  then, 
it  is  not  manured)  should,  for  its  own  sake,  lie  fallow  from  time  to 
time,  that  man  had  certain  duties  even  towards  it,  and  might  not 
perpetually  exact,  as  it  were,  work  from  it,  was  a  feeling  which  was 
undoubtedly  firmly  established  long  before  any  conceptions  about 
the  Sabbath.  But  when  the  idea  of  the  Sabbath  was  added,  not 
only  was  a  permanent  period  defined  when  the  soil  should  rest,  but 
this  period  was  itself  sanctified,  and  its  observance  placed  among  the 
higher  duties  of  man.  Here,  accordingly,  the  whole  natural  view  in 
regard  to  the  soil  which  prevailed  in  antiquity  found  expression  in 
the  style  peculiar  to  Jahveism.  Even  the  soil  has  its  divine  right  to 
the  necessary,  and  therefore  divine,  amount  of  rest  and  considera- 
tion ;  even  towards  it  man  is  not  to  be  ceaselessly  directing  his  lust  for 
work  and  gain ;  even  to  it  is  he  to  allow  a  proper  time  for  rest,  in 
order  that  he  may  in  turn  reap  the  greater  blessing.  The  soil  annually 
produces  its  fruits  as  a  debt  which  it  owes  to  man,  and  on  which 
man  may  reckon  as  the  reward  of  the  toil  which  he  expends  upon  it ; 
but  just  as  there  are  times  when  the  debt  may  not  be  demanded  even 
from  the  human  debtor,  so  is  man  at  the  proper  time  to  let  the  soil 
alone  without  exacting  payment  from  it.  And  as  the  ancient  law 
everywhere  manifests  a  splendid  consistency,  it  desires  that  the 
harvest  of  every  kind,  even  of  orchards  and  vineyards,  shall  be  re- 
nounced, nay,  that  no  purpose  shall  be  entertained  of  gathering  even 
the  spontaneous  crops  of  the  year  in  field  and  garden.' 

Ewald  shows  that  due  provision  was  made,  during  this  year,  for 
the  needy,  as  they  were  at  liberty  to  gather  the  fruits  of  every  kind 
which  would  grow  freely  and  abundantly  on  the  fallows.  Also  we 
need  not  suppose  that  the  Sabbatical  was  an  idle  year.  Other  occu- 
pations besides  ploughing,  sowing,  and  reaping  were  permitted  ;  and, 
in  that  year,  special  attention  was  given  to  moral  and  religious 
instruction. 

Dr.  Ginsburg,  Commentary  for  English  Pleaders,  in  loc.,  says : 
'What  constitutes  cultivation,  and  how  much  of  labour  was  re- 
garded as  transgressing  this  law,  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
canons  which  obtained  during  the  second  Temple.  No  one  was 
allowed  to  plant  trees  in  the  Sabbatical  year,  nor  to  cut  off  dried-up 
branches,  to  break  off  withered  leaves,  to  smoke  under  the  plants  in 


UNALTERABLE  LA  W  OF MEDES  AND  PERSIANS.  235 

order  to  kill  the  insects,  nor  to  besmear  the  unripe  fruit  with  any 
kind  of  soil  in  order  to  protect  them,  etc.  Anyone  who  committed 
one  of  these  things  received  the  prescribed  number  of  stripes.  As 
much  land,  however,  might  be  cultivated  as  was  required  for  the 
payment  of  taxes,  as  well  as  for  growing  the  barley  required  for  the 
omer,  or  wave-sheaf  at  the  Passover,  and  wheat  for  the  two  wave- 
loaves  at  Pentecost." 

The  Unalterable  Law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians. 

DANIEL  vi.  S  :  '  Now,  O  King,  establish  the  decree,  and  sign  the  writing,  that 
it  be  not  changed,  according  to  the  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  which 
altereth  not.' 

Difficulty. — How  did  Medo- Persian  law  differ  from  ordinary 
laivl 

Explanation. — It  was  regarded  as  promulgated  by  the  king  as  a 
deified  person.  This  conception  of  royalty  is  peculiar  to  the  East, 
though  we  have  a  Western  shadow  of  it  in  the  doctrine,  once  taught 
even  in  England,  of  the  Divine  right  of  kings.  The  extravagant 
extent  of  the  sentiment  in  Oriental  nations  may  be  illustrated. 
4  Babylonian  kings,  from  the  remote  days  of  Khammurabi  to  the 
days  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  called  themselves  divine  and  god-born.  In 
an  inscription  (stated  to  be  as  early  as  2,000  B.C.)  in  the  palace  of 
Assurbanipal  at  Kouyunjik  the  king  counts  as  his  ancestor  one 
Sugamunu ;  and  this  ancestor  was  afterwards  worshipped  by  the 
Babylonians  as  a  god.  Amaragu  is  the  name  of  another  king 
similarly  deified.  Izdubar,  the  hero  of  the  'deluge'  tablets,  and 
identified  by  some  with  the  Biblical  Nimrod,  received  like  honours, 
and  a  tablet  with  a  prayer  addressed  to  him  has  been  discovered  at 
Nineveh.  Hero-worship  and  king-worship  made  no  strange  demands 
upon  the  most  idolatrous  of  nations ;  and  therefore  the  Babylonians, 
when  called  upon  to  pay  to  the  conqueror — Darius  the  Mede — the 
homage  due  to  a  god,  readily  acceded  to  the  demand.'  (Speaker's 
Commentary.'] 

Chardin  says  that,  in  Persia,  when  the  king  has  condemned  a 
person,  it  is  no  longer  lawful  to  mention  his  name,  or  to  intercede  in 
his  favour.  Though  the  king  were  drunk  or  beside  himself,  yet  the 
decree  must  be  executed ;  otherwise  he  would  contradict  himself,  and 
the  law  admits  of  no  contradiction. 

An  incarnation  of  God  could  not  afford  to  appear  mistaken,  or 
changeable ;  and  this  idea  is  evidently  the  basis  of  the  notion  that 
his  laws  were  unalterable.  What  was  regarded  as  a  direct  interven 
tion  of  the  gods  alone  could  form  sufficient  reason  for  a  change. 


236      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
The   Writing  on  the   Stones  at  Ebal. 

DEUTERONOMY  xxvii.  2,  3  :  'And  it  shall  be  on  the  day  when  ye  shall  pass 
over  Jordan  unto  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee,  that  thou  shalt 
set  thee  up  great  stones,  and  plaister  them  with  plaister  :  and  thou  shalt  write 
upon  them  all  the  words  of  this  law,  when  thou  art  passed  over,  that  thou 
niayest  go  in  unto  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.'  (See 
Joshua  viii.  30-35.) 

Difficulties. — i.  How  could  all  Israel  get  to  Ebal  on  the  day  of 
crossing  the  Jordan?  2.  Why  was  Ebal  selected  as  the  place  for  the 
renewal  of  the  covenant  ?  3.  What  hope  was  there  that  writing  on 
plaister  would  endure  ?  4.  How  could  '  all  the  words  of  the  law '  be 
written  on  two  stones  ? 

Explanations. — The  figurative  character  of  Eastern  language 
must  be  constantly  borne  in  mind  by  the  Scripture  reader.  '  On  the 
day'  is  a  figure  of  speech,  meaning  'at  the  time';  'as  soon  as  con- 
•venient.'  A  journey  to  Ebal  on  the  day  of  the  crossing  was  physically 
impossible  by  reason  of  the  distance,  and  the  presence  of  Canaanite 
fortresses  and  armies  blocking  the  way.  As  soon  as  Jericho  was 
overthrown,  and  Ai  destroyed,  the  inhabitants  of  Central  Palestine 
fled  from  their  homes,  and  then,  at  the  first  possible  moment,  before 
either  the  southern  or  the  northern  nations  could  combine  for  a  last 
struggle,  Joshua  rapidly  marched  the  people  to  Ebal,  and  fulfilled  the 
Mosaic  instructions.  -  Such  a  march  may  seem  strange  and  almost 
impossible  to  us,  but  great  tribes,  familiar  with  desert  movements, 
would  quickly  and  readily  accomplish  it,  and  return  to  their  old 
camping-ground. 

Ebal  was  selected  as  a  central  situation,  from  which  Joshua  seemed 
to  embrace  the  whole  country  given  by  God  to  Israel.  We  may  also 
notice  that  the  conformation  of  the  valley,  and  proximity  of  the  hill- 
sides, fitted  it  for  such  a  national  gathering,  and  enabled  all  present 
to  take  intelligent  part  in  what  was  done.  For  description  of  the 
•district,  see  Dr.  Geikie's  Hours  with  the  Bible,  vol.  ii.,  p.  410. 

The  rough  surface  of  the  stones  would  unfit  them  for  writing  or 
painting,  and  we  are  not  to  understand  that  the  laws  were  engraved 
or  carved  into  the  stone.  A  hard  white  cement,  covering  the  surface 
of  the  stone,  would  be  as  firm  and  durable  as  the  stone,  and  in  that 
•dry  climate  the  writing  or  painting  would  be  clear  and  distinct  for 
generations.  The  practice  was  common  in  Egypt ;  and  many  ancient 
pictures  painted  on  such  layers  of  gypsum  are  still  visible,  as  well  as 
ancient  writings  in  reddish  ink.  Thomson  {Land  and  Book^  p.  471) 
says :  *  I  have  seen  numerous  specimens  of  this  kind  of  writing,  cer- 
tainly more  than  2,000  years  old,  and  still  as  distinct  as  when  it  was 


THE   WRITING  ON  THE  STONES  AT  EBAL.     237 

first  inscribed  on  the  plaster.'  At  Pompeii  ancient  writings  are  still 
preserved  on  the  cement  which  covers  the  walls  of  the  houses  and 
streets. 

As  the  exhibition  of  laws  in  this  manner  on  stones,  pillars,  or 
tablets,  was  familiar  to  the  ancients,  and  they  were  skilful  in  com- 
pressing a  great  deal  upon  a  small  surface,  as  is  shown  by  the  elaborate 
inscriptions  on  recently  recovered  monuments,  there  is  really  no  diffi- 
culty in  assuming  that  these  stones  were  prepared  beforehand,  and 
contained  a  full  summary  of  the  covenant  requirements  of  God.  It 
need  not  have  been  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  the  Decalogue  only, 
or  the  mere  table  of  blessings  and  cursings.  '  The  words  employed 
can  only  mean  all  the  laws  revealed  from  God  to  the  people  by 
Moses'  (exclusive  of  the  purely  Mosaic  elaborations,  details,  and 
repetitions).  *  In  these  would  not  be  included  the  historical,  didactic, 
ethnological,  and  other  non-legislative  matter  comprised  in  the  Penta- 
teuch, but  simply  its  legal  enactments,  regarded  by  the  Jews  as  613  in 
number.'  (Speakers  Commentary r,  in  loc.) 

The  stones  were  to  serve  as  a  monument  testifying  to  the  fact  that, 
then  and  there,  the  whole  people  of  Israel  took  possession  of  the  land 
on  the  Divine  conditions,  so  only  their  side  of  the  covenant,  the 
essential  principles  of  moral  and  religious  conduct  to  which  they  stood 
pledged,  required  to  be  written  on  the  memorial.  The  altar,  beside 
the  stones,  seemed  to  assure  God's  faithful  keeping  of  His  side  of  the 
covenant  if,  in  all  obedience  and  holiness,  they  were  faithful  to  theirs. 

Egyptian  Divining-Cups. 

GENESIS  xliv.  2,  5  :  '  Put  my  cup,  the  silver  cup,  in  the  sack's  mouth  of  the' 
youngest.'  '  Is  not  this  in  which  my  lord  drinketh,  and  whereby  indeed  he, 
divineth  ?'  (See  also  ver.  15.) 

Difficulty. — Did  Joseph  so  far  give  up  his  religion  as  to  adopt 
Egyptian  magical  customs  ? 

Answer. — It  may  be  well  first  to  explain  what  these  '  divining- 
cups'  were.  E.  L.  Clark,  in  Israel  in  Egypt,  p.  166,  says:  'The 
priests  are  believed  to  possess  the  art  of  knowing  the  will  of  the  gods 
from  the  divining-cups.  Joseph  brought  fear  into  the  hearts  of  his 
brethren  by  referring  to  this  well-known  Egyptian  custom.  Such 
bowls,  or  cups,  are  of  finest  workmanship,  and  represent  at  least  the 
wisdom  of  the  workman  who  made  them.  They  have  the  holy  beetle 
carrying  a  ball  like  the  sun  in  his  claws,  his  wings  outstretched, 
standing  upon  a  lotus-flower.  A  similar  beetle,  with  wider  wings, 
forms  a  canopy,  the  ends  of  which  rest  on  lotus-plants.  Beneath  this 
ire  the  sphinxes,  in  the  unusual  position  of  acf'on,  standing  erect,  one- 


238      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

foot  lifted  above  images,  and  the  wings  elevated.  Many  mysterious 
lines  and  forms  occupy  the  centre  and  the  rim.  The  shadows  which 
come  and  go  within  these  wine-cups,  and  the  position  of  certain  drops 
of  water  or  wine,  are  thought  to  be  not  less  certain  indications  of  the 
Divine  will  than  the  eclipse  of  the  sun,  or  the  discovery  of  new  stars.' 

The  sacred  cup  was  a  symbol  of  the  Nile.  Lane  says  that  divina- 
tion by  cups  was  practised  either  by  dropping  gold,  silver,  or  jewels, 
into  the  water,  and  then  examining  their  appearance ;  or  simply  by 
looking  into  the  water  as  into  a  mirror,  somewhat  probably  as  the 
famous  Egyptian  magician  did  into  the  mirror  of  ink,  as  mentioned 
by  the  Duke  of  Northumberland  and  others  in  the  present  day. 

Joseph  was  at  this  time  acting  a  part  before  his  brothers,  with  a 
definite  object  in  view ;  and  we  may  easily  explain  all  that  was  said 
and  done  as  being  necessary  to  the  consistent  and  complete  carrying 
out  of  the  part.  So  far  from  assuming  that  Joseph  had,  in  any  sense, 
given  up  his  religion,  we  need  not  even  suppose  that  he  actually  had 
a  divining-cup.  It  is  quite  enough  that,  for  his  immediate  purpose, 
he  had  his  silver  drinking-cup  so  called.  It  was  part  of  his  plan  to 
produce  a  profound  impression  of  his  dignity  and  power  as  an 
Egyptian  official  upon  his  brethren,  and  so  to  disarm  any  suspicions 
that  they  might  entertain.  Joseph  was  to  these  Hebrews  the  great 
Egyptian  official,  and  he  did  just  what  such  an  officer  would  do,  and 
said  just  what  such  an  officer  would  say.  We  can  learn  nothing  from 
such  an  incident  concerning  the  ordinary  habits  of  Joseph,  and  the 
faithfulness  which  distinguished  him  is  a  strong  presumption  against 
the  notion  that  he  either  divined,  or  made  trial  in  any  of  the  idolatrous 
ways.  *  If  he  had  resorted  to  divination  by  cups,  he  would  have  been 
untrue  to  his  sacred  character  as  a  worshipper  and  prophet  of  the  one 
God,  and  would  have  degraded  himself  to  the  level  of  the  Egyptian 
magicians,  and  would  have  given  countenance  to  their  superstitions.' 
i  (  Bishop  Wordsworth. ) 

The  morality  of  thus  '  acting  a  part '  may  best  be  tested  by  familiar 
incidents  in  modern  life,  and  the  sentiments  commonly  cherished 
concerning  them.  For  instance,  the  son  who  has  long  been  away  in 
foreign  lands,  comes  to  his  old  home  unexpectedly,  and  acts  the  part 
of  a  stranger,  talking  to  the  aged  parents  about  their  lost  son  to  find 
out  if  he  has  the  old  place  in  their  hearts.  No  one  imagines  for  one 
moment  that  this  is  immoral,  deceptive,  or  mischievous.  So  the 
policeman  puts  on  disguise,  and  acts  a  part,  in  order  to  secure  the 
apprehension  of  a  criminal,  and  such  stratagem  is  applauded.  We 
.must  not  'do  evil  that  good  may  come';  but  devices,  disguises, 
-stratagems,  and  part-acting,  need  not  be  evil,  and  so  may  not  only  be 


THE  LA  IV  AGAINST  MING  LINGS,  239 

permissible,  but  even  wise  and  right,  the  best  thing  under  the  circum- 
stances. A  little  consideration  will  reveal  that  Joseph  could  not  have 
met  the  state  of  things  more  skilfully  or  more  prudently  than  he  did. 
There  need  be  no  question  about  the  Tightness  of  his  '  acting  a  part  ;* 
the  only  question  that  seems  difficult  to  answer  is  this :  Did  he  not 
overdo  his  part  ? 

The  Law  against  Minglings. 

LEVITICUS  xix.  19  :  '  Thou  shall  not  sow  thy  field  with  mingled  seed,  neither 
shall  a  garment  mingled  of  linen  and  woollen  come  upon  thee. ' 

Question. — Is  there  a  permanence  of  obligation  attaching  to  this  law? 

Answer. — Such  an  obligation  has  never  been  recognised.  Within 
limitations  different  breeds  of  animals  have  been  crossed,  and  the 
breeds  improved  thereby.  And  mixed  stuffs  are  familiar  articles  of 
merchandise.  The  farmers,  if  they  do  not  absolutely  sow  two  kinds 
of  seeds  together,  scatter  the  clover  before  the  wheat  is  up. 

The  law  belongs  to  the  period  when  God  was  pleased  to  teach  His 
people  by  precise  and  formal  rules ;  and  when  it  was  especially  need- 
ful to  impress  that  man  must  in  no  way  interfere  with  the  Divine 
order  and  arrangement,  either  in  nature  or  in  revelation.  Outside 
of  the  formal  theocracy,  and  after  it  has  done  its  work,  and  made  its 
witness,  the  free  dominion  and  use  of  the  earth  is  given  to  men. 
They  soon  discover  that  they  cannot  improve  on,  or  alter,  the  actual 
Divine  order,  but  they  can,  and  they  may,  develop  the  possibilities 
that  are  in  the  Divine  Creation.  As  an  illustration  we  may  remind 
of  the  improvements  of  plants  by  artificial  fertilization.  And  it  is 
curious  to  note  that  while,  in  the  earlier  times,  the  Hebrews  were 
forbidden  to  breed  mules,  these  animals  became  the  peculiar  treasure 
of  kings  and  princes  in  the  period  of  the  monarchy. 

From  the  Mosaic  point  of  view,  no  doubt  this  law  against  minglings 
was  an  important  agency  in  preserving  the  separateness,  simplicity, 
and  isolation  of  the  Hebrews  as  a  nation.  It  was  one  of  the  outward 
teachings  of  the  selectness  of  the  nation. 

Modes  of  calling  Tribes  together. 

I  SAMUEL  xi.  7:  'And  he  took  a  yoke  of  oxen,  and  cut  them  in  pieces,  and 
sent  them  throughout  all  the  borders  of  Israel  by  the  hand  of  messengers,  saying, 
Whosoever  cometh  not  forth  after  Saul  and  after  Samuel,  so  shall  it  be  done  unto 
his  oxen '  (Rev.  Ver. ). 

Question. —  Was  this  an  invention  of  Saul's,  or  was  it  done  in 
accordance  with  a  recognised  tribal  custom  ? 

Answer. — The  gathering  together  of  scattered  portions  of  a 
tribe,  or  family  of  tribes,  to  meet  some  pressing  necessity,  was  so  im- 


240      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

portant  a  matter,  and  so  frequently  required,  that  we  may  be  quite 
sure  some  customs  in  relation  to  it  were  established.  Perhaps 
usually  a  messenger,  or  a  trumpet  call,  sufficed.  In  our  own  land, 
at  one  time,  beacon  fires  were  lighted  on  the  hill- tops.  There  is, 
however,  a  previous  case  narrated  in  Scripture  which  is  very  similar  to 
Saul's ;  and  both  indicate  action  taken  suddenly,  and  under  the 
influence  of  passion.  We  may  therefore  assume  that  such  a  custom 
was  only  followed  in  a  case  of  extreme  urgency. 

The  earlier  case  is  of  so  painful  a  character  that  we  do  not  give 
the  details,  but  refer  our  readers  to  Judges  xix.,  especially  verses 
29,  30.  '  The  narrative  takes  us  back  to  wild  times,  when  the  passions 
of  men  expressed  themselves  in  wild  and  fierce  expedients.'  Dean 
Stanley  tells  us  in  a  footnote  to  Jewish  Church,  vol  i.,  p.  261  :  *  A 
similar  incident  is  said  to  have  occured  recently  in  the  tribes  near 
Damascus.  An  Arab  woman  having  been  accused  of  unchastity  by 
another,  was  killed  by  her  father,  who  then  tore  her  body  open  in 
the  presence  of  the  tribe,  and  found  that  she  was  innocent.  The 
slanderer  was  then  judged.  Her  tongue  was  cut  out,  and  she  was 
hewn  into  small  pieces,  which  were  sent  all  over  the  desert.' 

Lurian  tells  of  the  practice  by  the  Scythians,  of  a  custom,  like 
Saul's,  of  sending  round  the  pieces  of  an  ox,  as  a  threatening  to  all 
who  fail  to  respond  to  the  summons. 

Readers  of  '  Lady  of  the  Lake '  will  remember  the  very  striking 
description  of  calling  a  Highland  clan  together  for  an  expedition  or 
a  defence.  Sir  Walter  Scott  explains  his  allusion  thus  :  *  When  a 
Highland  chief  wished  to  summon  his  clan,  he  slew  a  goat,  and  making 
a  cross  of  any  light  wood,  seared  its  extremities  at  the  fire,  arid  ex- 
tinguished them  in  the  blood  of  the  animal.  It  was  delivered  to  a 
swift  and  trusty  messenger,  who  ran  with  it  to  the  next  hamlet,  where 
he  presented  it  to  the  principal  person  with  a  single  word,  implying 
the  place  of  rendezvous.  He  who  received  the  symbol  was  bound  to 
send  it  forward  with  equal  despatch  to  the  next  village,  and  thus  it 
passed  with  incredible  celerity  through  all  the  district  which  owed 
allegiance  to  the  chief.  At  sight  of  the  fiery  cross  every  man.  from 
sixteen  years  old  to  sixty,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  was  obliged 
instantly  to  repair  to  the  place  of  rendezvous.  He  who  failed  to 
appear  suffered  the  extremities  of  fire  and  sword ;  emblematically 
denounced  by  the  bloody  and  burnt  marks  upon  the  warlike  signal.' 

Describing  the  effect  of  the  message  from  Jabesh  Gilead  upon 
Saul,  Kitto  says  :  '  The  news  awoke  all  the  patriot  and  the  king 
within  him.  Like  Samson  aroused  from  slumber,  he  "shook  his 
invincible  locks,"  and  stood  up  in  the  fulness  of  his  strength.  The 


POLYGAMY  WITHIN  THE  MOSAIC  SYSTEM.     241 

time  was  come  to  use,  in  behalf  of  the  people,  the  office  to  which  he 
had  been  chosen,  and  to  make  that  office  a  truth  in  their  eyes  and  in 
the  eyes  of  their  enemies.  He  did  not  hesitate  one  moment  to  call 
the  people  to  arms,  and  that  not  with  uncertain  voice,  but  command- 
ingly  as  their  king,  whose  summons  it  was  their  duty  to  obey.  The 
new  monarch  had  an  opportunity  for  affording  such  signal  proof  of 
his  capacity,  decision,  and  military  conduct,  as  might  win  for  him  the 
general  admiration  of  his  subjects,  and  secure  his  full  possession  of 
the  royal  power  to  which  he  had  been  appointed.' 

Polygamy  within  the  Mosaic  System. 

I  SAMUEL  i.  2  :  *  And  he  had  two  wives ;  the  name  of  the  one  was  Hannah, 
and  the  name  of  the  other  Peninnah  ;  and  Peninnah  had  children,  but  Hannah  had 
no  children.' 

Difficulty. — In  view  of  the  original  law  for  humanity — one  husband 
and  one  wife — could  poly g.uny  ever  be  considered  right  ? 

Explanation.— We  may  deal  first  with  the  case  of  Elkanah,  and 
then  treat  of  the  general  question.  Monogamy  was  certainly  the 
Divinely  appointed  rule,  but  circumstances  might  arise  in  which  a 
modification  of  the  rule  seemed  advisable.  The  land  of  Canaan  had 
been  allotted  to  families,  and  it  was  regarded  as  supremely  important 
that  in  no  case  should  the  land  be  alienated  from  the  family.  But 
the  keeping  of  the  property  depended  on  a  man's  having  a  son  born 
to  him  as  his  heir.  If  a  man  married,  and  his  wife  bare  no  children, 
he  was  placed  in  a  most  anxious  position,  and  relief  was  found  for 
him  in  permission  to  take  a  second  wife.  Suggestions  of  such  a 
custom  we  find  in  Sarah's  giving  Hagar  to  Abraham,  and  in  the 
operation  of  the  Levirate  law.  The  family  of  Zelophehad  was  placed 
in  great  difficulty  because  the  children  were  all  daughters,  and  a 
special  law  had  to  be  passed  for  their  relief,  permitting  them  to 
inherit.  Hannah  was  the  first  wife  of  Elkanah,  and  only  when  it 
was  made  plain  that  she  was  to  have  no  children  did  he  take  the 
second  wife,  who  evidently  occupied,  throughout  the  references  to 
her,  quite  a  secondary  and  subordinate  position,  and  is  a  kind  of 
Hagar  in  relation  to  Sarah.  We  look  on  the  case  of  Elkanah  as  one 
of  the  exceptions  that  prove  the  monogamic  rule  to  have  prevailed. 

On  the  general  question  Dr.  C.  Geikie  writes,  tracing  the  intro- 
duction of  polygamy  to  Lamech  :  *  A  new  floodgate  01  evil  is  now 
opened,  for  with  Lamech  begins  polygamy.  One  wife  had  been 
created  for  Adam,  and,  hitherto,  had  been  the  rule ;  but  the  "  wild 
man  "  takes  two,  and  thus  introduces  a  usage  which,  more  than  any 
other,  corrupts  society,  where  it  prevails.  That  it  should  have  been 

16 


242      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

thus  ascribed  to  the  race  of  Cain  is  significant ;  for  though  it  after- 
wards  existed  in  Israel,  it  was  always  the  exception.  The  law  per- 
mitted, but  did  not  favour  it ;  and  even  kings  were  forbidden  to  have 
many  wives.' 

The  Mosaic  law  aimed  at  mitigating  rather  than  removing  evils 
which  were  inseparable  from  the  state  of  society  in  that  day.  Its 
enactments  were  directed  (i)  to  the  discouragement  of  polygamy; 
(2)  to  obviate  the  injustice  frequently  consequent  upon  the  exercise 
of  the  rights  of  a  father  or  a  master ;  (3)  to  bring  divorce  under  some 
restriction ;  and  (4)  to  enforce  purity  of  life  during  the  maintenance 
of  the  matrimonial  bond. 

Kitto  says  :  '  Although  a  plurality  of  wives  was  not  forbidden  by  the 
law  of  Moses,  the  possession  of  more  than  one  was  exceedingly  rare, 
except  among  chiefs  and  princes,  as  is  still  the  case  in  those  Eastern 
countries  where  the  same  permission  exists.  The  popular  feeling, 
even  in  the  presence  of  such  a  permissive  law,  is,  and  we  have  reason  to 
suppose  was,  averse  to  the  exercise  of  this  privilege,  except  in  parti- 
cular cases.  This  is  evinced  by  the  notion  of  some  old  Jewish  com- 
mentators on  the  case  before  us,  that  one  of  this  man's  wives  was 
childless,  as  a  punishment  upon  him  for  having  taken  more  than  one. 
This  shows  the  tendency  of  Jewish  opinion ;  and  among  the  Jews  at 
this  day  polygamy  is  scarcely  ever  practised,  even  in  those  Eastern 
countries  where  the  public  law  offers  no  restriction.  As  to  the  modern 
Orientals,  the  country  in  which  polygamy  most  prevails  is  Persia ;  but 
even  there  it  is  not  common  to  find  a  man  who  has  more  than  one  wife.' 

Subsequent  to  the  Captivity  we  fine  the  monogamic  system  fully 
established.  Gadsby  says  that  Mahomet  allowed  his  male  followers 
each  to  have  four  wives,  if  he  could  maintain  them.  There  are  few, 
however,  in  Egypt,  who  have  so  many ;  indeed,  most  have  only  one 
wife.  Bachelors,  or  persons  suspected  of  being  bachelors,  are  looked 
upon  with  contempt  or  distrust.' 

Miss  Martineau  says :  *  If  we  are  to  look  for  a  hell  upon  earth,  it 
is  where  polygamy  exists ;  and,  as  polygamy  runs  riot  in  Egypt, 
Egypt  is  the  lowest  depth  of  this  hell' 

Extraordinary  Use  of  Hallowed  Bread. 

I  SAMUEL  xxi.  6  :  'So  the  priests  gave  him  holy  bread  ;  for  there  was  no  bread 
there  but  the  shew-bread,  that  was  taken  from  before  the  Lord,  to  put  hot  bread 
in  the  day  when  it  was  taken  away.' 

Question. —  Was  the  priest  justified  in  this  use  of  the  shew-bread  1 
Answer. — In  referring  to  this  incident  as  illustrating  the  reason- 
able modifications  of  the  Sabbath-law,  our  Lord  laid  down  the  principle 


EXTRAORDINARY  USE  OF  HALLOWED  BREAD.  243 

that  human  necessities  must  override  all  formal  and  ritual  rules. 
From  this  point  of  view  it  was  quite  right  for  David,  in  his  extremity, 
to  have  the  loaves  of  the  shew-bread.  But  the  priest  did  not  dis- 
tinctly take  this  position.  He  was  deceived  into  the  idea  that  the 
King,  who  had  supreme  authority,  requisitioned  these  loaves.  The 
priest's  excuse  for  his  giving  the  loaves  was  reasonable.  David's  plea 
of  necessity  was  reasonable.  All  that  is  to  be  regretted  in  the  trans- 
action is  the  deception  to  which  David  was  driven  by  the  pressure  of 
circumstances. 

*  The  loneliness  of  David,  and  the  fact  that  he  had  no  weapons, 
created  suspicion ;  but  with  the  craftiness  and  skill  at  framing 
excuses  and  explanations,  which,  from  the  higher  standards  of 
Christianity,  we  call  untruthfulness,  but  which  was  always  a  charac- 
teristic of  the  Jewish  race,  and  seems  to  have  been  a  special  here- 
ditary quality  in  the  family  of  David,  he  disarmed  the  suspicions,  and 
induced  the  priest  to  give  him  loaves  of  the  old  shew-bread,  and  the 
sword  of  Goliath.' 

Kit  to  supports  the  explanation  given  above,  that  the  priest  under- 
stood a  special  claim  was  made  for  the  Kings  service.  David  'pre- 
pared an  ingenious  tale  to  delude  the  pontiff.  He  told  him  that  he 
was  upon  most  urgent  and  private  business  for  the  King,  citing  the 
•very  words  which,  as  he  said,  Saul  had  used  in  intrusting  this  secret 
mission  to  him  ;  and  his  servants,  he  alleged,  had  been  directed  to 
meet  him  at  a  certain  place.  This,  of  course,  left  the  high  priest  to 
understand  that  whatever  aid  was  rendered  to  him,  would  be  advancing 
the  King's  service.' 

Canon  Spence  says  :  '  This  "  hallowed  bread,"  or  shew-bread,  five 
loaves  of  which  David  petitioned  for,  consisted  of  twelve  loaves,  one 
for  each  tribe,  which  were  placed  in  the  tabernacle  fresh  every 
Sabbath-day.  The  law  of  Moses  was  that  this  bread,  being  most 
'holy,  could  only  be  eaten  by  the  priests  in  the  holy  place.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  this  regulation  had  been  relaxed,  and  that  the  bread  was 
now  often  being  carried  away  and  eaten  in  the  homes  of  the  minister- 
ing priests ;  and  on  urgent  occasions,  perhaps,  was  even  given  to  the 
•"  laity,"  as  in  this  case,  the  proviso  only  being  made  that  the  con- 
sumers of  the  bread  should  be  ceremonially  pure.  Our  Saviour,  in 
Matt.  xii.  3,  especially  uses  this  example,  drawn  from  the  Tabernacle's 
honoured  customs,  to  justify  a  violation  of  the  letter  of  the  law,  when 
its  strict  observance  would  stand  in  the  way  of  the  fulfilment  of  man's 
sacred  duty  to  his  neighbour.  The  natural  inference  from  this 
incident  would  be  that  such  a  violation  of  the  Mosaic  law  was  not  an 
mncommon  occurrence.  The  Talmud,  however,  is  most  anxious  that 

16— 2 


244     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

this  inference  should  not  be  drawn,  and  points  out  in  the  treatise 
Menachoth  (Meat  Offerings)  that  this  bread  was  not  newly  taken  out 
of  the  sanctuary,  but  had  been  removed  on  some  previous  day,  and 
that  as,  after  a  week's  exposure,  it  was  stale  and  dry,  the  priests  ate 
but  little  of  it,  and  the  rest  was  left.  It  also  points  out  that  had  such 
violation  of  the  Levitical  law  been  common,  so  much  importance 
would  not  have  been  attached  to  this  incident.' 

What  were  the  Idol  Groves? 

EXODUS  xxxiv.  13  :  '  But  ye  shall  destroy  their  altars,  break  their  images,  and 
cut  down  their  groves.' 

Question. —  Were  these  groves  of  trees,  or  some  kind  of  image  of  the 
female  divinity  known  as  Astarte  ? 

Answer. — Groves  were  important  associations  of  pagan  worship 
in  classical  times,  and  '  the  connection  of  sacred  groves  and  trees 
with  the  worship  of  the  powers  of  nature,  may  be  traced  very  gener- 
ally amongst  the  ancient  nations  of  Europe  and  Asia.' 

The  word  translated  '  groves '  is  '  asherah]  and  it  is  quite  a  different 
word  from  that  translated  'grove'  in  Gen.  xxi.  33  (eshel).  Asherdh 
denotes  something  that  is  upright,  fixed,  or  planted,  in  the  ground. 
It  would  seem  to  suggest  a  pillar,  or  a  monument,  if  it  is  to  be 
distinguished  from  an  image  or  statue.  The  suggestion  has  been 
made,  and  it  seems  to  be  a  reasonable  one,  that  the  asherdh  was  a 
pillar,  usually  of  wood,  which  was  recognised  as  a  symbol  of  Astarte. 
Very  possibly  it  was  like  the  sacred  tree  of  the  Assyrians,  which,  from 
the  sculptured  figures,  was  an  upright  stock,  which  was  adorned  at 
festive  seasons  with  boughs,  flowers,  and  ribbons. 

Professor  Wilkins  says  that  the  word  translated  *  grove '  properly 
denotes  a  symbolical  pole  or  stem  of  a  tree.  '  Movers  indeed 
maintains  that  Asherah  is  a  goddess,  distinct  from  Ashtoreth,  but  it 
seems  from  the  usage  of  the  word  far  more  probable  that  the  word 
denotes  merely  the  upright  wooden  symbol,  employed  in  the  worship 
of  Ashtoreth,  sometimes  of  comparatively  small  size  and  moveable, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Asherah  which  Josiah  found  standing  on  the  altar 
of  Baal  Peor,  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  brought  out  to  be 
destroyed,  when  he  banished  the  worship  of  Baal  and  Ashtoreth  from 
Jerusalem,  sometimes  fixed  up  in  numbers  round  the  altars  of  Baal,, 
as  in  the  "  grove  "  which  Gideon  cut  down  in  the  night  at  Ophrah.' 


THE  KINSMANSHIP  OF  BOAZ.  245 

Ruth's  Mode  of  claiming  the  Kinsmanship  of  Boaz. 

RUTH  iii.  9  :  'And  he  said,  Who  art  thou?  And  she  answered,  I  am  Ruth 
thine  handmaid  ;  spread  therefore  thy  skirt  over  thine  handmaid  ;  for  thou  art  a 
near  kinsman.' 

Question. — Is  it  possible  to  reconcile  this  conduct  of  Ruths  with 
the  modesty  becoming  to  a  young  woman  ? 

Answer. — It  would  be  altogether  unfair  to  judge  this  incident  in 
the  light  of  modern  and  Western  sentiments  and  customs.  We 
cannot  even  understand  it  unless  we  carefully  consider  the  notions  of 
that  age.  It  is  necessary  also  to  bear  in  mind  that  Ruth  did  not  thus 
act  of  her  own  accord,  but  in  strict  obedience  to  the  instructions  of 
Naomi,  who  could  be  fully  trusted  to  know  well  the  customs  of  the 
country,  and  to.  take  all  care  of  the  honour  of  her  daughter-in-law. 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  points  out  that  the  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  Naomi's  getting  her  rights  was  the  question  of  the  marriage  of 
Ruth.  Naomi  saw  her  opportunity  in  the  interest  Boaz  had  taken  in 
Ruth,  and  the  attentions  he  had  shown  her.  Now  the  best  thing 
was  for  Ruth  to  claim  the  protection  of  Boaz,  and  then,  for  the  sake 
of  securing  her  as  his  wife,  Boaz  would  be  sure  to  get  over  the 
difficulty  of  the  other  kinsman  standing  in  the  way.  Naomi's  scheme, 
therefore,  precisely  meant  that  Ruth  should  make  her  marriage- 
claim  of  Boaz,  and  she  planned  the  best  possible  occasion  and 
method  for  making  this  claim. 

We  may  first  see  the  relation  of  this  *  spreading  the  skirt  over '  in 
connection  with  marriage.  Dr.  A.  Clarke  says  :  *  Even  to  this  day, 
when  a  Jew  marries  a  woman,  he  throws  the  skirt,  or  end  of  his 
tallith  over  her,  to  signify  that  he  has  taken  her  under  his  protection.' 
From  a  passage  in  the  Koran  it  is  implied  that  prior  to  the  time  of 
Mohammed,  the  next  of  kin  could,  by  thus  throwing  his  garment 
over  the  widow,  assert  his  claim  to  her  person  and  dower,  often  with 
great  injustice.  Roberts  gives  the  fullest  illustration  we  have  met 
with,  from  Hindoo  marriage  customs :  *  The  bride  is  seated  on  a 
throne,  surrounded  by  matrons,  having  on  her  veil,  her  gayest  robes, 
and  most  valuable  jewels.  After  the  thali  has  been  tied  round  her 
neck,  the  bridegroom  approaches  her  with  a  silken  skirt  (purchased 
by  himself),  and  folds  it  round  her  several  times  over  the  rest  of  her 
clothes.  A  common  way  of  saying  he  has  married  her  is  "  he  has 
given  her  the  Koori"  has  spread  the  skirt  over  her.  There  are, 
however,  those  who  throw  a  long  robe  over  the  shoulders  of  the  bride, 
instead  of  putting  on  the  skirt.  An  angry  husband  sometimes  says 
to  his  wife,  "  Give  me  back  my  skirt,"  meaning  he  wishes  to  have  the 


246      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

marriage    compact    dissolved.      The    request   of    Ruth,    therefore 
amounted  to  nothing  more  than  that  Boaz  should  marry  her.' 

Had  Boaz  resolved  to  marry  her,  he  would  have  done  just  this 
very  thing.  Now  Ruth  had  legal  claims  of  marriage  on  her  kinsman, 
and  she  supposed  this  kinsman  to  be  Boaz,  so  she  was  absolutely 
within  her  right  in  asking  for  the  marriage  symbol 

In  explanation  of  the  incident  we  may  further  note  that,  in  harvest- 
time,  the  reapers  and  their  master  sleep  on  the  threshing-floors,  that 
Orientals  do  not  remove  their  dress  for  sleeping,  but  they  are  very 
particular  about  folding  their  robe  round  their  feet.  All  Ruth  was  to 
do  was  to  lift  the  end  of  the  robe  from  the  feet  of  Boaz,  and  lay  it  on 
herself ;  when  the  movement  awoke  Boaz,  she  was  to  ask  him  to  do 
voluntarily  the  symbolical  act  which  she  had  begun. 

Kitto  makes  a  good  suggestion.  '  It  is  not  unlikely  that,  when  this 
matter  had  been  first  suggested  by  Naomi,  Ruth,  as  a  stranger,  had 
shrunk  from  making  this  claim  publicly  in  the  harvest-field,  and  that 
Naomi  had,  therefore,  to  spare  her  in  that  respect,  devised  this  mode 
of  enabling  her  to  do  so  in  private,  in  which  she  would  find  less 
difficulty,  seeing  that  Boaz  had  already  won  her  confidence  by  his 
fatherly  consideration  for  her.  It  may  be  that  the  desire  to  evade 
one  difficulty  somewhat  blinded  this  good  woman  to  the  danger 
that  may  have  lurked  in  the  other  alternative.' 

The  Affliction  of  Emerods. 

I  SAMUEL  v.  6  :  '  But  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  heavy  upon  them  of  Ashdod, 
and  He  destroyed  them,  and  smote  them  with  emerods,  even  Ashdod  and  the 
coasts  thereof  (Rev.  Ver.  'tumours'). 

Question. — Is  it  possible  for  us  to  discover  the  probable  character 
of  this  affliction? 

Answer. — Medical  science  was  in  such  an  undeveloped  state, 
that  the  features  of  disease  noticed  in  Scriptures  are  seldom  those 
which  sharply  distinguish  one  disease  from  another.  We  should  not 
expect  to  find  in  Scripture-writers  the  precise  skill  of  the  cultured  and 
experienced  physician.  In  this  case  we  have  indication  of  tumourous 
swellings,  but  it  is  with  great  uncertainty  that  we  identify  the  swell- 
ings with  what  we  know  as  haemorrhoids,  or  bleeding  piles,  a  dis- 
tressing and  painful,  but  not  a  fatal  form  of  disease.  Beyond  the 
argument  based  on  the  name,  the  only  Bible  evidence  that  can  be 
adduced,  is  a  sentence  in  Psalm  Ixxviii.  66,  in  which,  referring  to 
these  events,  the  Psalmist  says,  *  And  He  smote  His  enemies  in  the 
hinder  parts.'  But  the  Revised  Version  corrects  the  expression,  which 
should  be,  'And  He  smote  His  enemies  backward.'  We  can  only  sny 


THE  AFFLICTION  OF  EMERODS.  247 

that  some  plague,  recognised  as  a  Divine  visitation,  and  known  by 
the  name  of  emerods,  was  familiar  to  the  Eastern  people  in  ancient 
times;  for  it  is  included  among  the  Divine  judgments  in  Deut  xxviii.  27, 
and  is  there  classed  with  diseases  of  the  skin  and  swellings  of  the  flesh. 

Dr.  Edersheim  thinks  it  was  a  malignant  skin  disease,  highly 
infectious  and  fatal  in  its  character.  *  Judging  from  the  derivation  of 
the  word,  and  from  its  employment  in  connection  with  other  skin 
diseases,  we  regard  it  as  a  kind  of  pestilential  boils  of  a  very  malignant 
character.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  takes  the  same  view.  '  It  is  more  likely  to  have  been 
a  pestilence  accompanied  by  local  swellings,  such  as  mark  the  Oriental 
plague,  and  may  have  been  caused  by  the  devastations  of  the  field 
vermin,  which,  Oken  assures  us,  often  cause  famine  by  their  ravages.  ' 

Smith's  Bible  Dictionary  argues  for  the  modern  idea  o'/ 
haemorrhoids,  on  the  ground  partly  of  the  root-meaning  of  the  word 
used,  and  partly  in  view  of  the  fact  that  these  are  very  common  in 
Syria  at  present,  Oriental  habits  of  want  of  exercise  and  improper 
food,  producing  derangement  of  the  liver  and  constipation,  etc., 
inducing  their  development.  The  words  of  i  Sam.  v.  12,  *Thc 
men  that  died  not  were  smitten  with  emerods,'  show  that  the  disease 
was  not  necessarily  fatal. 

Dr.  S.  Cox,  in  the  Expositor  strongly  commends  this  view. 

Ewald  thinks  the  disease  was  either  a  bloody  flux,  which  in  certain 
countries  accompanies  other  contagious  diseases,  or  tumours  affect- 
ing the  same  part  of  the  body.  He  observes,  by  way  of  illustration, 
that  Leipsic  suffered  in  February  and  March,  1855,  from  an  epidemic 
of  boils. 

Jamieson  takes  the  disease  to  have  been  an  aggravated  form  of 
haemorrhoids,  and  adds  :  '  As  the  heathens  generally  regarded  diseases 
affecting  the  secret  parts  of  the  body  as  punishments  from  the  god  ; 
for  trespasses  committed  against  themselves,  the  Ashdodites  would 
be  the  more  ready  to  look  upon  the  prevailing  epidemic  as  demon- 
strating the  anger  of  God,  already  shown  against  their  idol,' 

Michal's  Image. 

I  SAMUEL  xix.  13  :  '  And  Michal  took  the  teraphim,  and  laid  it  in  the  bed,  and 
put  a  pillow  of  goat's  hair  at  the  head  thereof,  and  covered  it  with  the  clothes.' 

Question.  —  What  was  the  *  image  '  which  Michal  was  enabled  to 
use  in  this  singular  way  ;  and  what  had  the  pillow  of  goaf  s  hair  to  do 


Answer.  —  We  can    readily  understand    Michal's    quick-witted 
device  to  gain  time  for  David  to  escape.     The  front  of  the  house  was 


248     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

watched  by  the  officers  of  Saul,  and  at  any  moment  they  might  make 
forcible  entry.  Michal  was  prompt  and  skilful.  She  let  David  down 
through  a  window  at  the  back  of  the  house,  and  then  devised  the 
appearance  of  a  sick  man,  lying  on  his  bed,  and  quite  unable  to  obey 
any  commands  of  the  king.  We  have  some  explanations  of  the  way 
in  which  she  managed  this  appearance  of  a  sick  man.  We  must  not 
think  of  our  raised  beds  :  the  Eastern  beds  were  only  mats  laid  on 
the  higher  part  of  the  floor  against  the  wall :  there  it  would  be  shady 
and  dark,  and  the  deception  would  be  easily  successful.  The 
appearance  of  a  man  asleep  in  sickness,  covered  warmly  with  clothes, 
and  possibly  having  his  head  and  face  protected  by  a  sort  of  mos- 
quito-net, was  promptly  arranged. 

The  materials  seem  to  have  been  ready  to  Michal's  hand,  but  it 
certainly  creates  surprise  to  find  in  the  house  of  an  Israelite,  whose 
law  strictly  forbade  images,  anything  taking  at  all  the  form  of  a 
human  being.  The  Revised  Version  tells  us  that  Michal  took  the 
teraphim,  and  from  this  it  is  argued  that  the  women  may  have  kept, 
in  their  private  apartments,  figures,  like  those  which  Rachel  had, 
when  she  left  Padan-aram,  and  which  were  regarded  as  securing  pros- 
perity and  good  luck  to  the  house. 

But  surely  we  have  very  small  ground  for  making  an  idolatrous 
teraphim  out  of  Michal's  image.  It  is  true  that  Rachel  had  stolen 
and  concealed  such  figures,  but  from  her  mode  of  concealing  them 
it  is  quite  clear  that  they  must  have  been  very  small,  probably  little 
metal  figures,  like  the  little  gods  of  heathen  lands,  and  not  larger 
than  ordinary  dolls.  Such  an  image  could  not  possibly  have 
answered  Michal's  purpose,  or  deceived  anybody  into  the  idea  that  a 
man  lay  on  the  bed.  Then,  we  have  no  other  indication  that  the 
Israelites  were  addicted  to  the  superstitious  use  of  these  household 
gods,  or  teraphim,  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  Rachel  had 
them,  and  Josiah  destroyed  them,  when  he  rooted  out  the  elaborate 
idolatry  of  the  later  monarchy. 

Examining  the  narrative  carefully,  it  becomes  evident  that  Michal 
was  specially  anxious  about  the  appearance  of  the  head,  for  the  very 
reason  that  what  she  put  into  the  bed  had  not  the  shape  and  form  of 
a  man's  head.  We  are  carefully  informed  that  the  mat,  or  pillow  of 
goat's  hair  was  disposed  about  his  head,  so  as  to  give  the  appearance 
of  a  man's  hair.  All  that  was  necessary  was  to  find  some  pillar,  or 
block,  or  piece  of  household  furniture,  which  would  raise  the 
clothes,  dispose  the  goat's  hair  round  the  part  that  was  on  the 
pillow,  bring  the  clothes  high  up,  and  cast  a  light  mosquito-net  over 
the  upper  part.  As  she  was  a  princess,  we  may  be  sure  that  the 


MICHAL^  IMAGE.  249 

officers  would  take  her  word,  after  only  a  distant  and  cursory  examina- 
tion, and  would  discover  the  deception  only  when  Saul  commanded 
them  to  fetch  David,  whether  he  were  sick  or  well. 

We  may  confirm  this  view  by  giving  some  account  of  the  ancient 
teraphim,  and  by  showing  the  unsatisfactory  character  of  the  explana- 
tions usually  given  of  the  goat's  hair  pillow. 

Ewald  tells  us  that  an  image  of  this  sort  did  not  consist  of  a  single 
object,  but  of  several  distinct  parts,  at  any  rate  when  the  owner  cared 
to  have  one  of  the  more  fully  adorned  and  perfect  specimens.  The 
essential  kernel  of  it,  made  either  out  of  stone  or  wood,  always 
attempted  to  exhibit  the  image  of  a  god  in  human  form,  even  life- 
size  ;  but  already  in  the  earliest  times  this  by  itself  was  readily 
regarded  as  too  plain.  It  generally  received,  therefore,  a  coating  of 
gold  or  silver,  either  over  the  whole  body  or  only  particular  portions. 
*  These  domestic  deities  were  employed  from  the  earliest  times  to 
furnish  oracles,  so  that  the  word  teraphim  is  absolutely  identical 
with  oracular  divinity.  For  this  purpose  the  first  addition  to  the 
image  was  an  ephod,  or  magnificent  robe  put  over  the  shoulders, 
having  on  its  breast  a  casket  containing  the  lots  employed  in  deter- 
mining the  oracle.  In  the  second  place  a  kind  of  mask  was  placed 
over  the  head  of  the  image,  in  which  the  priest  who  was  seeking  the 
oracle  probably  had  to  perceive  by  sundry  tokens  whether  the  god 
was  willing  or  not  to  give  an  oracle  at  all  at  that  particular  time. 
These  masks  alone  made  the  image  properly  complete,  and  from 
them  the  divinities  received  the  name  of  teraphim,  meaning,  a 
nodding  countenance,  or  living  mask.'  They  were  undoubtedly  con- 
nected with  idolatrous  systems,  but  there  is  certainly  no  sufficient 
proof  that  they  were  found  in  the  houses  of  pious  Jehovah  worship- 
pers. Kitto  tries  to  support  the  idea  that  Michal  had  this  figure  in 
the  women's  apartments,  where  she  could  keep  it  out  of  David's 
sight :  but  if  it  was  life-size  that  would  surely  be  impossible. 

It  is  evident  that  many  articles  of  household  furniture  could  be 
readily  made  to  serve  Michal's  purpose ;  and  all  would  depend  on 
her  skill  in  making  the  appearance  of  a  man's  head  on  the  pillow. 
fosephus  has  a  foolish  explanation.  He  says  that  Michal  put  in  the 
bed  the  lungs  of  a  goat  recently  killed,  the  palpitations  of  which 
would  impart  the  motion  caused  by  a  man's  breathing  in  bed.  Some 
suggest  that  the  head  was  covered  with  a  mosquito-net  made  of  goat's 
hair.  Others  say  there  was  a  goat's-hair  pillow  below  the  head  and  a 
cloth  over  it.  The  hair  of  a  Syrian  goat  might  form  a  good  stuffing 
for  a  pillow-case,  but  such  a  stuffing  would  in  no  way  help  the 
deception. 


250      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Kitto  makes  a  suggestion,  that  the  pillow  was  of  goat's  skin,  with 
the  hair  outside ;  and  that  such  a  pillow  was  then  regarded  as  having 
a  sanative  property  in  some  diseases  ;  whence  to  see  such  a  pillow  in 
a  bed  would  strengthen  the  illusion  that  a  sick  man  lay  there. 

We  much  prefer  what  seems  a  simple  and  satisfactory  explanation, 
that  Michal  disposed  the  goat's  hair  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  a 
passable  resemblance  to  David's  head. 

Women's  Adornments. 

ISAIAH  iii.  18-24  :  'In  that  day  the  Lord  will  take  away  the  bravery  of  their 
tinkling  ornaments  about  their  feet,  and  their  cauls,  and  their  round  tires  like  th  * 
moon.' 

Question. — Can  these  various  articles  of  female  attire  be  reasonably 
identified1! 

Answer. — Not  with  any  great  certainty.  Fashions  are  con- 
stantly changing,  and  the  names  for  fashionable  articles  are  variable  ; 
but  collecting  the  various  suggestions  of  travellers  and  expositors,  a 
very  fair  account  of  them  may  be  given. 

Illustrating  the  'round  tires/  one  writer  says:  'The  women  of 
Samaria  wear  now  a  head-dress  which  perfectly  illustrates  the  prophet's 
description.  It  is  a  sort  of  bonnet  with  a  horse-shoe  shape  in  front, 
and  in  the  front  are  some  silver  coins  lapping  over  one  another,  and 
making  a  crescent-shaped  tire  (resembling  the  crescent  moon)  round 
the  forehead  and  down  to  the  ears. 

Delitzsch  gives  the  following  careful  details  and  paraphrase  :  * "  On 
that  day  the  Lord  will  put  away  the  show  of  the  ankle-clasps  and  of 
the  head-bands,  and  of  the  crescents  ;  the  ear-rings  and  the  arm- 
chains,  and  the  light  veils  ;  the  diadems  and  the  stepping  chains,  and 
the  girdles  and  the  smelling-bottles,  and  the  amulets  ;  the  finger-rings 
and  the  nose-rings;  the  gala-dresses  and  the  sleeve-frocks,  and  the 
wrappers  and  the  pockets ;  the  hand-mirrors  and  the  Sindu  cloths, 
and  the  turbans  and  the  gauze  mantles."  "  Ankle-clasps :"  rings  of 
gold,  silver,  or  ivory,  worn  round  the  ankle.  "Head-bands"  or 
frontlets :  plaited  bands  of  gold  or  silver  thread,  worn  below  the  hair- 
net, and  reaching  from  one  ear  to  the  other ;  or  were  sun-like  balls* 
which  were  worn  as  ornaments  round  the  neck.  "  Crescents:"  little 
pendants  of  this  kind  fastened  round  the  neck,  and  hanging  down 
upon  the  breast.  (In  Judges  viii.  21,  we  meet  with  them  as  orna- 
ments hung  round  the  camels'  necks.)  Such  ornaments  are  still 
worn  by  Arabian  girls,  who  generally  have  several  different  kinds  of 
them.  "  Ear-rings  :"  we  meet  with  these  in  Judges  viii.  26,  as  an 
ornament  worn  by  Midianitish  kings.  "  Arm-chains  :"  according  to 


WOMEN'S  ADORNMENTS.  251 

the  Targum,  these  were  chains  worn  upon  the  arm,  or  spangles  upon 
the  wrists,  answering  to  the  spangles  upon  the  ankles.  "  Fluttering 
veils :"  these  were  more  expensive  than  the  ordinary  veils  worn  by 
girls.  "  Diadems  "  are  only  mentioned  in  other  parts  of  Scripture  as 
being  worn  by  men  (e.g.,  by  priests,  bridegrooms,  or  persons  of  high 
rank).  "  Stepping-chains  :"  the  chain  worn  to  shorten  and  give 
elegance  to  the  step.  "  Girdles :"  dress-girdles,  such  as  were  worn 
by  brides  upon  their  wedding-day  (cf.  Jer.  ii.  32  with  Isaiah  xlix.  18); 
the  word  is  erroneously  rendered  "  hair-pins "  in  the  Targum. 
"  Smelling-bottles  :"  the  breath  of  an  aroma.  •'  Amulets  :"  gems  or 
metal  plates  with  an  inscription  upon  them,  which  were  worn  as  a 
protection  as  well  as  an  ornament.  "  Finger-rings  :"  or  signet-rings 
worn  upon  the  finger.  "  Nose-rings  "  were  fastened  in  the  central 
division  of  the  nose,  and  hung  down  over  the  mouth ;  they  have 
been  ornaments  in  common  use  in  the  East  from  the  time  of  the 
patriarchs  down  to  the  present  day  (Gen.  xxiv.  22).  "  Gala-dresses" 
are  dresses  not  usually  worn,  but  taken  off  when  at  home.  "  Sleeve- 
frocks  :"  the  second  tunic,  worn  above  the  ordinary  one — the 
Roman  stola.  "  Wrappers  :"  broad  cloths  wrapped  round  the  body. 
u  Pockets "  were  for  holding  money  (2  Kings  v.  23),  which  was 
generally  carried  by  men  in  the  girdle  or  in  a  purse.  "  Hand- 
mirrors  :"  the  Septuagint  renders  this  Lacedaemonian  gauze,  or  trans- 
parent dresses,  which  showed  the  nakedness  rather  than  concealed  it ; 
but  the  better  rendering  is,  mirrors  with  handles;  polished  metal 
plates.  "  Sindu-cloths "  (sedinim) :  veils  or  coverings  of  the  finest 
linen,  viz.,  of  Sindu  or  Hindu  cloth — Sindu,  the  land  of  Indus,  being 
the  earlier  name  for  India.  "  Turbans :"  the  head-dress  composed 
of  twisted  cloths  of  different  colours.  "  Gauze  mantles :"  delicate 
veil-like  mantles  thrown  over  the  rest  of  the  clothes.  Stockings  and 
handkerchiefs  are  not  mentioned ;  the  former  were  first  introduced 
into  Hither  Asia  from  Media  long  after  Isaiah's  time ;  and  a  Jeru- 
salem lady  no  more  thought  of  using  the  latter  than  a  Grecian  or 
Roman  lady  did.' 

The  Ancient  Law  of  the  Goel. 

RUTH  iv.  5  :  '  Then  said  Boaz,  What  day  thou  buyest  the  field  of  the  hand  of 
Naomi,  thou  must  buy  it  also  of  Ruth  the  Moabitess,  the  wife  of  the  dead,  to  raise 
up  the  name  of  the  dead  upon  his  inheritance.' 

Question. — Did  not  Boaz,  on  this  occasion,  make  a  demand  which 
was  an  exaggeration  of  the  acknowledged  custom  ;  and  would  not  the 
kinsman  have  been  justified  in  resisting  him  ? 

Answer. — The  only  thing  that  might  seem  to  bar  Ruth's  right  to 
marriage  with  the  family  goel  is  her  foreign  birth ;  but,  in  a  previous 


252      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

paragraph,  we  have  shown  that  the  law  against  foreign  marriages 
applied  only  to  the  Canaanite  nations,  so  that  a  Moabite  wife  could 
claim  her  legal  rights  in  Israel. 

The  duties  of  the  goel,  or  family  representative,  need,  however, 
some  careful  attention.  We  are  familiar  with  his  duty  as  '  avenger 
of  blood,'  but  his  relations  to  a  branch  of  the  family  which  may  have 
lost  its  head,  and  be  left  without  any  heir  to  take  his  place,  are  not 
so  well  understood.  They  strike  us  as  almost  repulsive,  but  were 
necessary  at  a  time  when  property  was  not  permitted  to  change 
hands,  or  to  be  alienated  from  the  family  to  which  it  was  originally 
given.  The  old  Jewish  marriage  customs  required  the  nearest  relation 
of  a  dead  husband  to  become  his  goel,  or  redeemer,  buying  back  his 
inheritance,  if  estranged,  and  marrying  his  widow,  if  childless ;  to 
raise  up  a  son  to  him,  that  *  his  name  should  not  cease  in  Israel.' 
All  male  blood  relations  of  the  deceased  man  were  reckoned  as 
among  his  goelim,  or  redeemers ;  but  the  nearest  of  all  was  the  goel, 
and  was  the  first  who  was  bound  to  redeem  his  kinsman's  name  and 
inheritance.  If,  however,  he  refused  to  redeem,  then  the  next  kins- 
man succeeded  to  his  right  and  duty  ;  but  he  himself,  for  his  refusal, 
was  put  to  an  open  shame. 

Dr.  S.  Cox  thinks  that  the  Moabitish  origin  of  Ruth  formed  the 
real  excuse  of  the  goel  in  this  case.  His  view  is  so  interesting  that 
it  may  be  given  in  full.  *  We  need  not  think  over-hardly,  therefore, 
even  of  this  anonymous  kinsman.  He  may  have  been,  probably  he 
was,  a  just  man  according  to  his  rights.  Walking  by  the  strict  re- 
quirements of  the  law  of  Israel,  he  may  have  honestly  doubted  whether 
he  were  bound  to  marry  Mahlon's  Moabitish  widow.  Undoubtedly 
it  was  a  sin  against  the  law  for  Mahlon  to  have  married  her  while 
she  was  a  heathen,  even  if  it  were  not  a  sin  to  take  her  now  that  she 
was  a  proselyte.  Could,  then,  the  widow  of  an  illegal  marriage  claim 
quite  the  same  rights  with  the  widow  of  a  legal  marriage,  even  though 
she  afterwards  became  a  proselyte  to  the  Hebrew  faith  ?  And  if  he 
was  not  bound  to  marry  her,  would  it  be  prudent  to  marry  her  ? 
Evidently  he  thinks  it  would  not  be  prudent.  He  declines  to  redeem, 
on  such  terms,  the  inheritance  of  his  dead  kinsman,  "lest  I  mar  mine 
own  inheritance."  By  which  he  meant,  I  think,  that  his  doubt  as  to 
the  right  conferred  on  Ruth  by  the  Hebrew  law  was  reinforced  by  a 
Hebrew  superstition.  For,  in  Israel,  marriage  with  the  daughter  of 
an  alien  race  was  held  to  be  "unlucky,"  even  when  it  was  lawful. 
Many  such  marriages  had  proved  unhappy  and  disastrous,  and,  by 
expressly  calling  Ruth  the  Moabitess  in  his  challenge,  Boaz  seems  to 
have  touched  his  kinsman's  superstitious  fears.  No  doubt  the 


SACRIFICE  TO  DEVILS.  253 

calamities  which  had  befallen  Elimelech  and  Naomi  were  popularly 
attributed  to  their  sojourn  in  the  field  of  Moab.  No  doubt,  the 
popular  voice  of  Bethlehem  affirmed  that  Chilion  and  Mahlon  had 
been  cut  off  before  their  time,  because  they  had  married  "  strange 
women."  Here,  then,  was  one  Hebrew  family  in  imminent  danger 
of  extinction  solely  because  of  such  a  marriage  as  was  now  proposed. 
The  goel  fears  a  similar  fate.  He  fears  that  should  he  marry  Ruth: 
he  may  "  injure  his  own  inheritance  " — fears  that  he,  too,  may  die 
before  his  time,  and  his  name  be  put  out  of  Israel.  He,  therefore, 
will  run  no  risk  :  let  Boaz  run  it,  if  he  will.' 

All  we  need  say  is,  that  Boaz  ran  the  demands  of  the  Levirate  law 
as  hard  as  he  could,  in  the  hope  of  securing  for  himself  the  rights  of 
the  goel  in  relation  to  Ruth. 

Sacrifice  to  Devils. 

PSALM  cvi.  37  :  '  Yea,  they  sacrificed  their  sons  and  their  daughters  unto  devils ' 
{Rev.  Ver.,  'demons'). 

Question. —  What  form  of  idolatry  is  referred  to  under  this  term? 

Answer. — In  all  probability  the  worship  of  Moloch  is  meant. 
The  actual  word  employed,  and  translated  '  devils,'  or  *  demons,'  is 
Shedim,  which  literally  means  the  same  as  Baalim,  lords,  or  powers. 
We  have  no  such  notion  of  demons,  or  inferior  gods,  as  was  familiar 
to  men  in  those  ancient  times.  Our  idea  of  Satan,  or  the  devil,  is 
altogether  different,  and  we  must  not  read  this  verse  from  the  psalm 
as  if  the  sons  and  daughters  were  sacrificed  to  our  Satan.  The  Old 
Testament  use  of  the  term  '  demons '  is  explained  in  Deut.  xxxii.  1 7  : 
*  They  sacrificed  unto  demons,  which  were  no  God,  to  gods  whom 
they  knew  not,  to  new  gods  that  came  up  of  late.'  The  '  new  gods  ' 
are  the  same  as  the  '  demons.'  The  root  of  the  Hebrew  word  is 
common  to  the  Shemitic  languages,  and  means  '  to  waste.'  or  *  to 
hurry  away  violently.'  So  Shedim  may  iaiily  mean  '  destroyers,'  and 
its  *  application  here  to  the  false  gods  points  to  the  trait  so  deeply 
graven  in  all  heathen  worship,  that  of  regarding  the  deities  as  malig- 
nant, and  needing  to  be  propitiated  by  human  sufferings.' 

The  Apostle  Paul  takes  up  and  uses  this  Old  Testament  idea  of 
idol-gods  as  demons  in  i  Cor.  x.  20 :  *  But  I  say,  that  the  things 
which  the  Gentiles  sacrifice,  they  sacrifice  to  devils,  and  not  to  God ; 
and  I  would  not  that  ye  should  have  communion  with  devils.'  (In 
the  margin,  the  Revisers  suggest  the  alternative  demons.}  St.  Paul 
uses  a  word  which,  while  it  would  not  be  needlessly  offensive  to 
Gentiles,  conveyed  his  meaning.  The  Greeks  themselves  called 


254     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

their  deities  daimonia,  and  St.  Paul  adopts  the  word ;  but  to  Jewish 
ears  it  meant,  not  *  deities  '  or  '  demigods,'  but  '  demons  '  or  '  devils.' 

There  is  existing  in  the  world  something  which  may  correctly  be 
called  a  worship  of  the  devil,  or  the  embodiment  of  the  evil  principle ; 
but  we  have  no  reason  for  thinking  that  this  was  in  the  mind  of  any 
of  the  Bible  writers.  A  people  called  the  Yezidis,  or  devil-worshippers, 
inhabit  the  countries  situated  between  Persia  and  the  north  of  Syria. 
Layard  spent  some  time  amongst  them,  and  studied  their  customs 
and  tenets  with  some  care.  He  says  :  '  The  name  of  the  evil  spirit, 
or  principle,  is  never  mentioned ;  and  any  allusion  to  it  by  others  so 
vexes  and  irritates  them,  that  it  is  said  they  have  put  to  death  persons 
who  have  wantonly  outraged  their  feelings  by  ks  use.  So  far  is  their 
dread  of  offending  the  evil  principle  carried,  that  they  carefully  avoid 
every  expression  which  may  resemble  in  sound  the  name  of  Satan, 
or  the  Arabic  word  for  "  accursed."  The  Yezidis  believe  Satan  to 
be  the  chief  of  the  angelic  host,  now  suffering  punishment  for  his 
rebellion  against  the  Divine  will,  but  still  all-powerful,  and  to  be 
restored  hereafter  to  his  high  estate  in  the  celestial  hierarchy.  He 
must  be  conciliated  and  reverenced,  they  say  ;  for  as  he  now  has  the 
means  of  doing  evil  to  mankind,  so  will  he  hereafter  have  the  power 
of  rewarding  them.' 

Wordsworth  puts  the  explanation  of  Old  Testament  references  to 
'  devils '  into  a  sentence  :  '  Though  idols  themselves  are  nothing,  yet 
to  worship  them  is  to  worship  the  Evil  Spirit,  who  works  by  them, 
and  is  the  author  of  idolatry.' 

The  '  Horns '  used  by  Eastern  Women. 

i  SAMUEL  ii.  I :  '  My  heart  rej  oiceth  in  the  Lord  ;  mine  horn  is  exalted  in  the 
Lord.' 

Question. — Is  this  a  poetical  figure,  or  does  it  refer  to  some  custom 
peculiar  to  Eastern  women  ? 

Answer.— Scripture- writers  take  both  views,  but  the  reports  of 
travellers  and  residents  in  Palestine  make  probable  the  reference  to  a 
distinct  custom. 

Canon  Spence  treats  it  as  a  purely  poetical  figure.  'The  image 
"  horn  "  is  taken  from  oxen,  and  those  animals  whose  strength  lies  in 
their  horns.  It  is  a  favourite  Hebrew  symbol,  and  one  that  had 
become  familiar  to  them  from  their  long  experience — dating  from  far 
back  patriarchal  times— as  a  shepherd  people.' 

Hannah  is  not  rejoicing  in  a  general  way  over  God's  goodness,  but 
in  a  special  and  particular  way  over  her  new  and  honoured  position 


THE  'HORNS'   USED  BY  EASTERN  WOMEN.    255 

as  a  mother,  which  gave  her  such  a  triumph  over  her  adversary, 
Peninnah.  We  should  naturally  expect  her  to  find  figures  of  speech 
from  her  womanly  sphere  of  thought  and  association ;  and,  meeting 
this  expectation,  Jamicson,  in  Critical  Commentary,  says  :  'Allusion 
is  here  made  to  a  peculiarity  in  the  dress  of  Eastern  females  about 
Lebanon,  which  seems  to  have  obtained  anciently  among  the  Israelite 
women,  that  of  wearing  a  tin  or  silver  horn  on  the  forehead,  on  which 
their  veil  is  suspended.  Wives  who  have  no  children  wear  it  pro- 
jecting in  an  oblique  direction,  while  those  who  become  mothers,  forth- 
with raise  it  a  few  inches  higher,  inclining  towards  the  perpendicular, 
and  by  this  slight  but  observable  change  in  their  head-dress,  make 
known  wherever  they  go  the  maternal  character  which  they  now  bear.' 
We  cannot  fail  to  see  what  force  and  beauty  this  puts  into  Hannah's 
expressioa  She  was  proud  of  being  thus  able  to  lift  her  horn  and 
show  herself  a  mother ;  but  she  piously  recognised  that  her  horn  was 
4  exalted  in  the  Lord,'  who  had  given  her  the  honour  in  answer  to 
her  prayer.' 

Van  Lennep  supports  this  view,  but  does  not  seem  to  have 
observed  the  custom  of  thus  raising  the  veil.  '  Our  own  opinion  is, 
that  this,  in  common  with  various  other  peculiar  head-dresses  put  on 
at  marriage,  and  worn  during  the  remainder  of  life,  has  no  reference 
whatever  to  the  horns  of  animals,  but  is  connected  with  the  idea,  very 
prevalent  in  the  East,  that  the  marriage  ceremony  constitutes  the 
crowning  of  the  virgin,  who  is  thenceforth  a  queen.  She  is,  indeed, 
so  called  in  the  liturgies  of  all  the  Oriental  Churches,  and  the  head- 
dress she  then  puts  on  for  the  first  time  bears  a  resemblance  in 
varying  degrees  to  a  crown.' 

The  following  description  of  the  woman's  horn,  which  seems  to 
have  originally  been  intended  simply  to  keep  the  veil  a  little  way  off 
from  the  face,  is  very  interesting :  *  Besides  the  ring,  chains,  and 
bracelets  which  load  the  ears,  neck,  and  arms  of  the  Syrian  ladies, 
they  wear  on  the  head  a  hollow  horn,  made  either  of  silver  or  of 
copper  silvered  over,  according  to  the  wealth  of  the  wearer ;  it  rises 
obliquely  from  the  forehead,  and  is  similar  in  shape  to  that  worn  by 
the  other  sex.  This  horn,  or  tantour,  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty  inches 
long ;  its  thickness  gradually  diminishes,  the  diameter  of  the  larger 
extremity  being  about  four  inches,  and  that  of  the  smaller  extremity 
two  inches.  It  is  fastened  to  the  forehead  by  means  of  straps,  one 
passing  under  the  chin,  and  another  behind  the  head.  The  inclina- 
tion of  the  horn  forms  an  angle  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  degrees,  and 
over  it  hangs  a  drapery  of  white  muslin,  with  which  the  wearer  may 
conceal  her  features  at  pleasure.  The  horn  is  never  seen  apart  from 


256      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  veil.  Mr.  Bruce  found  the  chiefs  of  Abyssinia  wearing  this  dis- 
tinction. The  horns  were  about  four  inches  long,  made  of  silver,  and 
in  shape  somewhat  like  an  extinguisher.  Mr.  Buckingham^  also, 
travelling  in  Palestine  and  Syria,  a  few  years  ago,  saw  females  adorned 
with  this  remarkable  head-dress. 

David's  Moral  Claim  on  Nabal. 

i  SAMUEL  xxv.  6-17  :  Give,  I  pray  thee,  whatsoever  cometh  to  thine  hand, 
unto  thy  servants,  and  to  thy  son  David.' 

Question. — Had  David  any  reasonable  ground  in  the  established 
customs  of  the  age  for  a  request  which  took  so  much  the  character  of  a 
demand? 

Answer. — Irregular  service  may  be  rendered,  and  in  such  cases 
an  irregular  request  may  be  reasonably  presented.  Had  David  and 
his  followers  been  a  mere  ravaging  set  of  outlaws,  from  whose  depreda- 
tions no  farmer  was  secure,  it  would  have  been  the  height  of  imperti- 
nence for  him  to  ask  a  share  of  the  yearly  feasting.  But  David's  plea 
was  that  he  had  been  a  valuable,  though  informal,  defence  to  Nabal ; 
and  that  while  David's  men  had  been  in  his  neighbourhood,  his 
usual  losses,  from  robbers  and  wild  beasts,  had  been  reduced  to  a 
minimum.  Nabal  might  reasonably  have  taken  an  opportunity  thus 
presented  of  recognising  and  rewarding  the  service  thus  done  to  him. 
See  verses  15,  16. 

These  sheepmasters'  yearly  feasts  were  to  a  large  extent  open 
feasts,  to  which  wide  invitations  were  given. 

Eivald  says :  '  Since  the  inhabitants  of  these  southern  regions 
received  little  or  no  protection  in  person  or  property  from  Saul,  they 
would  have  been  constantly  exposed  to  the  rapacity  of  the  tribes  of 
the  desert,  had  not  David  and  his  flying  troop  protected  them.  It 
was  not  therefore  unreasonable  of  David  to  ask  a  share  of  the  feast 
for  his  people.' 

Robinson  says:  '  Now,  on  such  a  festive  occasion  as  a  sheep-shearing, 
near  a  town  or  village,  an  Arab  sheik  of  the  neighbouring  desert 
would  hardly  fail  to  put  in  a  word,  either  in  person  or  by  letter,  and 
his  message  would  be  a  transcript  of  that  of  David.' 

Jamieson  tells  us  that  *  when  such  tribute  is  denied  to  the  Arab 
chiefs,  they  are  wont  to  enforce  it  as  a  right? 

Kitto  says :  '  It  must  have  been  a  matter  of  much  consideration  to 
David,  how  to  sustain  and  employ  so  large  a  body  01  men  consistently 
with  his  purpose  of  not  taking  a  hostile  attitude  towards  the  king, 
nor  of  giving  the  people  any  cause  of  complaint  against  him.  He 


CONCERNING  HANGING  OR  CRUCIFYING.     257 

found  the  means  of  employing  them  chiefly,  it  seems,  in  protecting 
the  cattle  in  the  wild  and  open  border  country,  into  which  the  great 
sheep-masters  sent  their  flocks  for  pasture,  from  the  depredations  of 
their  marauding  neighbours,  such  as  the  Arabs,  the  Amalekites,  the 
Jebusites,  the  Hittites,  and  others.  This  species  of  service  creates 
a  claim  for  a  kind  of  tribute  from  the  wealthy  persons  thus  so 
essentially  benefited,  in  food  and  other  necessaries,  which  is  almost 
invariably  most  willingly,  and  even  thankfully,  rendered,  and  when 
not  so,  is  enforced  as  a  matter  of  right/ 

Ewald  further  says  :  *  Apart  from  the  Eastern  custom  of  giving 
largely  at  such  great  merry-makings,  according  to  which  such  a  request 
would  seem  in  no  way  strange,  David  had  a  certain  right  to  ask  a 
gift  from  Nabal's  wealth.  He  had  indirectly  no  small  share  in  the 
festal  joy  of  Nabal  and  his  house.  Without  some  part  of  the  super- 
fluity of  the  inhabitants  whom  he  protected,  he  could  not  have 
maintained  himself  and  his  army.' 


Universal    Sentiment    concerning    Hanging    or 
Crucifying. 

DEUTERONOMY  xxi.  22,  23  :  '  And  if  a  man  have  committed  a  sin  worthy  of 
death,  and  he  be  to  be  put  to  death,  and  thou  hang  him  on  a  tree  :  his  body  shall  not 
remain  all  night  upon  the  tree,  but  thou  shall  in  any  wise  bury  him  that  day  ;  (for 
he  that  is  hanged  is  accursed  of  God  ;)  that  thy  land  be  not  defiled,  which  the  Lord 
thy  God  hath  given  thee  for  an  inheritance.'  (See  also  Gal.  iii.  13.) 

Difficulty.  —  Why  should  any  peculiar  disgrace  attach  to  this  method 
of  death  1 

Explanation. — There  were  important  differences  between 
ancient  and  modern  modes  of  hanging,  and  what  is  referred  to  in  this 
passage  is  what  we  should  call  '  gibbeting.'  In  our  modern  method 
of  execution,  we  seek  for  the  swiftest,  easiest,  and  most  painless  form 
of  death  ;  but  in  earlier  days  there  was  a  disposition  to  gloat  over  the 
dying  agonies  of  criminals,  and  they  were  often  exposed,  both  when 
dying  and  after  death,  to  taunts  which  demoralized  the  taunters. 

It  seems  that  usually  (according  to  the  Rabbins)  the  criminal  was 
strangled,  and  after  death  his  body  was  hung  up,  as  a  public  warning, 
and  as  a  testimony  of  the  vindication  of  law.  But  such  a  public 
exposition  must  be  kept  within  careful  limits ;  and  it  must  never 
reach  such  an  extreme  point  as  to  suggest  revenge. 

For  sanitary  reasons  a  corpse  could  not  be  left  long  unburied  in 
that  hot  country ;  and  it  would  be  a  most  painful  sight  to  see  a  body 
so  hanging  attacked  by  carrion  birds. 


258      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

The  hanging  also  conveyed  the  sentiment  that  the  victim  was 
cursed  of  God  and  man,  and  so  hung  between  the  two,  as  unfit  for 
either  heaven  or  earth.  Probably  the  special  feeling  attaching  to  this 
method  of  execution  was  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  adopted  only  for 
cases  of  idolatry  and  cursing  of  God. 

Prof.  Lightfoot  renders  the  clause  in  verse  23,  'He  that  is  hanged 
is  a  curse  (/.*.,  an  insult,  injury,  or  mockery)  to  God,'  and  he  says 
that  this  was  the  popular  Jewish  interpretation  at  all  events  from  the 
second  century  of  the  Christian  era.' 

Dr.  Zoeckkr  has  collected   valuable  information  concerning  the 
practice  of  impalement,  or  crucifixion,  and  the  sentiments  associated 
with  it.      'For  the  extraordinarily  widespread,  yea,  almost  unlimited 
prevalence  of  the  punishment  of  the  cross  in  the  widest  sense,  among 
the  better  known  pre-Christian  peoples,  evidence  is  afforded  by  the, 
to  a  large  extent,  well-supported  ancient  accounts  which  attest  it. 
For  the  Indians,  there  are  those  referring  to  a  time  so  early  as  that  of 
the  conquests   of  Semiramis,   who  scornfully  threatens  the  Indian 
king,  Stabrobates,    with  a  nailing  to   the  cross;   for  the   Turanian 
people  of  the  Scythians,  to  the  north  of  Media,  those  referring  to  a 
period  six-  hundred  years  before  Christ,  at  the  time  of  the  Median 
king,  Cyaxares ;  as  concerns  the  Medes  and  Persians,  there  are  those 
vouching  for  its  existence  among  them  under  the  kings  of  the  line  of 
Achsemenides,   in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries;   for  the  people  of 
Magna  Grecia,  its  presence  is  attested  in  Sicily  at  the  time  of  the 
elder  Dionysius,  of  Syracuse,  about  the  year  B.C.  400,  and  often  after 
that  time  ;  for  the  Macedonians,  under  Alexander  the  Great  and  his 
successors  ;  even  for  the  ancient  Britons  and  the  Frieslanders,  whose 
custom,  attested  by  Tacitus,  for  the  first  century  of  our  era,  of  hang- 
ing their  captives  upon  crosses  or  gibbets,  unquestionably  points  back 
to  an  existence  thereof  in  earlier  ages.     As  concerns  the  Romans, 
crucifixions  in  the  wider  sense  present  themselves  even  in  the  history 
of  their  kings.     The  account  in  Livy,  given  in  connection  with  the 
history  of  the  Horatii,  of  a  hanging  upon  a  "  tree  of  ill  omen,"  no 
doubt  refers  to  one  which  was  effected  by  means  of  a  cord,  not  by 
nailing,  but,  nevertheless,  implies  clearly  enough  an  execution  bear- 
ing the  character  of  a  punishment  on  the  gallows — a  shameful  death 
by  hanging.     And  as  it  reminds  of  the  "  hanging  upon  a  tree"  of  the 
Old  Testament,  so,  also,  does  the  proceeding  of  Tarquinius  Priscus, 
of  which  Pliny  bears   testimony,  who,  in  the   construction  of  the 
Cloaca  Maxima,  caused  the  bodies  of  those  who  had  committed 
suicide,  in  order  to  escape  the  labour  imposed  upon  them,  to  be 
attached  to  the  cross,  as  a  warning  to  other  labourers.     In  its  later 


THE  INFECTION  OF  PROPHESYING.  259 

prevailing  form,  as  an  execution  carried  out  mainly  upon  slaves,  and 
those  guilty  of  the  graver  offences,'  its  degrading  character  is  clearly 
indicated. 


The  Infection  of  Prophesying. 

I  SAMUEL  xix.  24  :  *  And  he  stripped  off  his  clothes,  and  prophesied  before 
Samuel  in  like  manner,  and  lay  down  naked  all  that  day  and  all  that  night. 
Wherefore  they  say,  Is  Saul  also  among  the  prophets  ?' 

Difficulty. — How  can  the  idea  of  a  prophet,  as  a  man  in  direct 
communication  with  God,  be  reconciled  with  such  scenes  of  emotional 
excitement! 

Explanation. — Ewald  very  skilfully  details  the  incidents  of  this 
remarkable  day.  '  It  is  related  of  those  who  started  with  the  most 
hostile  intentions  against  the  prophets  and  their  pupils,  that  as  they 
approached  they  suddenly  stood  still,  spell-bound  by  the  music  and 
solemn  dance  of  the  devotees;  then,  more  and  more  powerfully 
drawn  by  the  same  spirit  into  the  charmed  circle,  they  broke  forth 
into  similar  words  and  gestures  ;  and  then,  flinging  away  their  upper 
garments,  they  joined  in  the  dance  and  the  music,  and  sinking  down 
into  ecstatic  quivering,  utterly  forgot  the  hostile  spirit  in  which  they 
had  come.  .  .  .  The  same  thing  befell  fresh  messengers  a  second, 
nay,  a  third  time.  Then  Saul  himself,  enraged,  rushed  to  Ramah  .  .  . 
and  as  he  looked  down  from  the  hill  upon  the  school  and  heard  the 
loud  pealing  songs  rising  from  it,  he  was  seized  by  the  Divine  Spirit, 
and  when  he  at  last  reached  the  spot  he  sank  into  the  same  condition 
of  enthusiasm  still  more  deeply  than  all  the  messengers  whom  he  had 
previously  despatched.' 

It  is  evident  that  the  term  '  prophesying '  is  used  in  more  than  one 
signification.  It  may  mean,  to  foretell  future  events ;  it  may  mean, 
to  deliver  a  message  received  directly  from  God.  But  it  may  also 
mean,  and  it  certainly  does  sometimes  mean,  to  be  in  a  state  of  great 
emotional  excitement,  so  that  one's  actions  are  swayed  by  the  emo- 
tions rather  than  by  the  will.  It  was  such  a  condition  into  which 
Saul  passed ;  and  such  conditions  are  dangerously  infectious.  The 
modern  illustrations  of  the  condition  are  some  forms  of  hysteria, 
excitements  of  revival  services,  passions  which  seize  and  carry  away 
mobs,  and  the  worked-up  scenes  of  dervishes  in  Eastern  lands.  The 
mental  and  emotional  laws  which  govern  such  conditions,  and  explain 
the  infectious  character  of  such  scenes,  are  not  well  understood,  but 
are  a  branch  of  study  to  which  men  are  more  and  more  directing 
attention  in  modern  times. 

17-    2 


26o      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

It  should  also  be  remarked  that  the  spirit  spoken  of  here  is  not 
God  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  the  spirit  of  enthusiasm,  the  excitement 
regarded  as  having  a  spiritual  source.  There  was  no  renewal  of  the 
Divine  endowment  which  Saul  had  forfeited ;  there  is  only  such  an 
indication  of  a  hopeful  state  as  may  be  found  in  some  remaining 
sensitiveness  to  religious  influences.  In  his  case  it  is  painfully 
evident  that  times  of  excitement  soon  pass,  leaving  no  permanent 
beneficial  influence  on  the  mind,  or  the  heart,  or  the  life. 

At  the  college  at  Ramah,  presided  over  by  Samuel,  religious  young 
men  were  '  instructed  in  sacred  learning  and  religious  exercises,  and 
were  led  to  cultivate,  especially  by  psalmody  and  music,  the  devo- 
tional feelings  which  might  fit  them,  when  occasion  called,  to  become 
the  messengers  of  God  and  teachers  of  the  people.'  This  minstrelsy 
and  song,  with  probably  rhythmic  movements  of  the  body,  are 
gathered  into  the  word  *  prophesyings.'  We  are  to  understand  that 
Saul,  putting  off  the  garment  which  distinguished  him  as  a  king, 
joined  the  singers,  entering  so  heartily  and  excitedly  into  all  the 
engagements  as  to  forget  everything  else,  presently  becoming  so 
exhausted  as  to  lie  down  in  a  deep  sleep  or  trance. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  unhinged  condition  of  Saul's  mind  should 
be  so  clearly  indicated  in  the  fact  that  he  yielded  to  the  enthusiasm 
sooner,  and  in  a  much  more  extravagant  degree,  than  his  messengers 
had  done. 

Van  Lennep  says  :  '  It  would  be  easy  to  trace  a  near  resemblance 
between  the  "  dervish  associations "  and  the  "  schools  of  the  pro- 
phets," as  instituted  by  Samuel,  and  continued  through  the  period  of 
the  Hebrew  monarchy.' 

The  Philistine  Trespass- Offering. 

I  SAMUEL  vi.  3,  4 :  '  And  they  said,  If  ye  send  away  the  ark  of  the  God  of 
Israel,  send  it  not  empty ;  but  in  any  wise  return  Him  a  guilt-offering  ;  then  ye 
shall  be  healed,  and  it  shall  be  known  to  you  why  His  hand  is  not  removed  from 
you.  Then  said  they,  What  shall  be  the  guilt-offering  which  we  shall  return  to 
Him  ?  And  they  said,  Five  golden  tumours,  and  five  golden  mice,  according  to 
the  number  of  the  lords  of  the  Philistines  :  for  one  plague  was  on  you  all,  and  on 
your  lords'  (Rev.  Fer.). 

Question. —  Was  the  God  of  Israel  likely  to  be  propitiated  by  pre- 
sents from  a  heathen  people  ? 

Answer. — Since  the  God  of  Israel  had  been  directly  dealing  with 
this  heathen  people  in  the  way  of  judgment,  there  is  nothing  un- 
reasonable in  assuming  that  He  would  deal  with  them,  in  response  to 
expressions  of  penitence,  in  a  way  of  mercy.  We  are  curiously 
limited  by  a  notion,  which  has  been  allowed  to  settle  in  our  minds, 


THE  PHILISTINE  TRESPASS-OFFERING.         261 

that  because  Jehovah  was  in  a  special  sense  the  God  of  the  Jews, 
therefore  He  was  the  God  of  the  Jews  only,  and  not — what  neverthe- 
less  He  is  most  forcibly  declared  to  have  been,  and  to  be — the  '  God 
of  the  whole  earth.'  *  In  every  nation,  he  that  feareth  God,  and 
worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  of  Him.' 

The  judgments  of  Jehovah  on  the  Philistines  took  two  forms  :  they 
were  afflicted  with  a  very  painful  and  trying  form  of  disease,  involving 
local  swellings,  like  tumours.  These,  in  the  absence  of  proper 
surgical  skill,  proved  very  fatal.  And  their  fields  were  overrun  with 
mice,  which  in  the  East  are  at  times  very  destructive.  An  old  traveller 
found  such  vast  numbers  of  rats  and  field-mice  in  the  country  from 
Gaza  northwards,  that  he  says,  *  If  nature  had  not  provided  a  great 
plenty  of  birds  which  lived  on  them,  the  people  could  not  have  sown 
any  seed  that  would  not  have  been  eaten.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  says :  '  The  custom  was  general  in  antiquity  of 
hanging  up  beside  the  altars,  in  the  temples,  such  models  of  parts  of 
the  body  that  had  been  healed,  or  of  objects  recalling  dangers  from 
which  one  had  been  rescued.  In  those  of  Greece,  for  example,  silver 
models  of  eyes,  legs,  arms,  etc.,  were  displayed  in  great  numbers,  a 
custom  still  seen  in  the  Greek  churches  of  Russia,  or  the  Roman 
Catholic  churches  of  Italy  or  Switzerland.  But  in  the  case  of  the 
Philistines,  the  images  were  not  like  these  models,  thankofferings 
for  recovery  granted,  for  the  plague  still  raged  when  they  were  sent 
off.  Nor  can  they  be  compared  to  the  talismans  or  amulets  of  astro- 
logers and  magicians  of  ancient  or  later  times,  which  were  regarded 
as  charms  to  effect  cures  or  avert  evils,  though  the  details  respecting 
such  wonder-working  fancies  are  very  curious.  The  Philistine  images 
were  representations  of  the  instruments  by  which  punishment  had 
been  inflicted  on  them,  and  an  acknowledgment  that  these  calamities 
— the  field-mice  and  the  plague — had  not  come  by  chance,  but  had 
been  inflicted  by  the  God  of  Israel,  for  their  having  taken  His  ark 
into  captivity.  A  similar  custom  has  prevailed  from  the  remotest 
times  in  India.  Thus  Tavernier  tells  us,  that  when  a  pilgrim  under- 
takes a  journey  to  a  pagoda,  to  be  cured  of  a  disease,  he  offers  to  the 
idol  a  present,  either  in  gold,  silver,  or  copper,  according  to  his 
ability,  in  the  shape  of  the  diseased  or  injured  member,  and  such  a 
gift  is  recognised  as  a  practical  acknowledgment  that  the  suffering  or 
evil  endured  has  been  inflicted  by  the  god.' 

Canon  Spence  says :  *  The  priests  and  diviners  thought  that  the 
Hebrew  Deity,  in  some  way  resident  in  the  "golden  chest,"  was  a 
childish,  capricious  deity,  like  one  of  their  own  loved  gods — Dagon, 
or  Beelzebub,  the  lord  of  flies.  Their  people  had  insulted  him  ;  he 


262      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

had  shown  himself  powerful  enough,  however,  to  injure  his  captors, 
so  the  insults  must  cease,  and  he  must  be  appeased  with  rich 
offerings.' 

The  Book   of  Jasher. 

JOSHUA  x.  13  :  'Is  not  this  written  in  the  Book  of  Jashar  ?'  (Rev.  Ver.\ 

Question. — Is  it  possible  for  us  to  form  any  idea  of  the  contents  of 
this  lost  book  ? 

Answer. — It  is  only  mentioned  in  one  other  Scripture  passage. 
2  Sam.  i.  1 8,  from  which  we  learn  that  it  contained  the  lamentation 
of  David  over  Saul  and  Jonathan,  which  was  recorded  under  the 
heading,  '  The  Song  of  the  Bow.'  Both  the  extracts  preserved  from 
it  for  us  are  of  a  poetical  character ;  the  one  being  a  national  song  of 
triumph,  the  other  a  national  elegy.  The  word  Jasher,  or  more  cor- 
rectly Jashar,  is  most  probably  an  appellation  of  theocracy,  that  is, 
of  the  people  of  Israel  considered  as  the  Covenant  people,  and  it  has 
much  the  same  force  as  the  word  Jeshurun  (Deut.  xxxii.  15). 

Ewald  thinks  that  the  book  illustrated  '  by  historical  songs,  how  an 
upright  man  in  Israel,  a  Joshua  or  a  Jonathan,  should  live ;  what 
glorious  vfctories  he  could  achieve ;  what  glory  he  would  gain/  We 
may  assume  that  the  collection  was  compiled  by  degrees.  It  must 
be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  Book  of  Psalms,  and  should  be 
regarded  as  a  gathering  up  of  heroic  poems,  which  were  composed 
on  the  occasion  of  great  national  events.  No  separate  book,  known 
by  the  title  of  Jasher,  was  extant  among  the  Jews  after  the  Christian 
era.  Bishop  Lowth  imagined  that  it  was  a  collection  of  national 
songs,  so  called,  because  the  book  probably  commenced  with  the 
words  az  yashir,  '  then  sang,'  etc.  In  all  nations  there  has  been  a 
constant  disposition  to  preserve  the  record  of  great  national  deeds  in 
heroic  song ;  and,  though  not  a  literary  people,  it  may  reasonably  be 
supposed  that  the  Israelites  followed  the  common  impulse.  The 
existence  of  Moses'  song  and  Deborah's  suffice  to  prove  that  such 
poems  were  composed  on  great  occasions. 

Dr.  Donaldson  has  attempted  the  reconstruction  of  this  Book  of 
Jasher  from  the  fragments  which,  according  to  his  theory,  he  traces 
through  several  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  A  brief  account  of  his 
views  we  take  from  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary.  *  Assuming  that, 
during  the  tranquil  and  prosperous  reign  of  Solomon,  an  unwonted 
impulse  was  given  to  Hebrew  literature,  that  the  worshippers  of 
Jehovah  were  desirous  of  possessing  something  on  which  their  faith 
might  rest,  the  book  of  Jashert  or  uprightness,  was  written,  or  rathe* 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER.  263 

compiled,  to  meet  this  want.  Its  object  was  to  show  that  in  the 
beginning  man  was  upright,  but  had  by  carnal  wisdom  forsaken  the 
spiritual  law ;  that  the  Israelites  had  been  chosen  to  preserve  and 
transmit  this  law  of  uprightness ;  that  David  had  been  made  king  for 
his  religious  integrity,  etc.  The  compiler  of  the  book  was  probably 
Nathan  the  prophet,  assisted  by  Gad,  the  seer.  It  was  thus  "  the 
first  offering  of  the  prophetic  schools,  and  ministered  spiritual  food  to 
the  greater  prophets."  Dr.  Donaldson  thinks  it  contained  the 
religious  marrow  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Whatever  fragments  in  the 
sacred  books  of  the  Hebrews  exhibit  the  nature  of  uprightness,  cele- 
brate the  victories  of  the  true  Israelites,  predict  their  prosperity,  or 
promise  future  blessedness,  have,  according  to  this  theory,  a  claim 
to  be  considered  among  the  relics  of  the  Book  of  Jasher.' 

In  estimating  the  argumentative  value  of  a  quotation  from  this 
Book  of  Jasher,  such  as  given  in  Joshua  x.,  we  must  make  due 
account  of  the  fact  that  it  contained  poetry,  and  poetry  of  the  un- 
restrained, and  often  extravagant,  ancient  and  Eastern  type.  Poetic 
figures  can  never  be  made  into  proofs  of  anything,  or  even  into  pre- 
cise explanations  of  anything. 

Tops  of  Houses. 

I  SAMUEL  ix.  25  :  *  And  when  they  were  come  down  from  the  high  place  into 
the  city,  Samuel  communed  with  Saul  upon  the  top  of  the  house '  {Rev.  Ver., 
'  housetop  '). 

Difficulty. — Housetops  seem  singular  places  to  which  to  take  friends 
for  private  conversation. 

Explanation. — It  is  commonly  known  that  the  roofs  of  Eastern 
houses  were  flat ;  but  Bible  readers  are  not  so  familiar  with  the 
various  uses  to  which  they  were  put,  and  the  arrangements  made  for 
their  adaptation  to  the  family  needs.  A  parapet  all  round  made 
them  quite  safe ;  a  special  staircase  gave  access,  so  that  persons  could 
get  on  the  roof  without  going  through  the  rooms ;  the  air  was  cool 
there,  so  that  persons  often  slept  on  the  roofs ;  awnings  were  set  up ; 
sometimes  the  household  work  was  done  there  ;  and  private  medita- 
tions, or  consultations  with  friends,  were  often  conducted  there.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  houses  covered  a  large  space,  and  were 
only  one,  or  at  most  two,  stories  high,  built  round  an  interior  court- 
yard ;  so  that  there  was  a  good  space  of  roof  which  really  served 
much  the  same  purpose  as  our  gardens,  round  which  friends 
often  walk  holding  private  conference.  Canon  Spence  says:  'He 
conducted  him  to  the  flat  roof  of  his  house,  often  the  favourite 


264      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

locality  in  the  East  for  quiet  conversation  and  rest,  and  where  fre- 
quently the  honoured  guest  was  lodged  for  the  night :  there  the 
prophet  had  a  long  interview  with  his  young  guest.'  Curiously,  the 
Septuagint  reads,  '  they  strewed  a  couch  for  Saul  on  the  top  of  the 
house,  and  he  lay  down.'  But  as  the  serious  conversation  about  the 
kingship  was  held  next  morning,  this  is  not  unlikely  to  represent  the 
fact  that  occurred.  There  is  abundant  authority  for  the  custom  of 
providing  temporary  accommodation  for  visitors  on  the  flat  roofs.  It 
is  indeed  the  pleasantest  place  for  sleeping  in  the  hot  season. 
Slight  shelters  are  raised  on  it  to  protect  the  sleeper  from  the  dew, 
and  mats  are  thought  sufficient  as  beds. 

Perkins  gives  a  good  account  of  these  Eastern  roofs.  '  The  roofs 
of  the  houses  in  Persia  are  flat,  and  terraced  over  with  earth.  Stout 
timbers  are  first  laid  across  the  walls,  about  two  feet  apart.  These 
are  covered  over  with  small  split  sticks  of  wood,  at  intervals  of 
perhaps  three  inches,  on  which  are  spread  rush  mats.  Then  succeeds 
a  thick  layer  of  a  rank  thorny  wood,  which  grows  abundantly  on  the 
mountains,  in  a  bushy,  globular  form,  a  foot  or  two  in  diameter. 
This  weed  is  so  resinous  as  not  soon  to  decay — is  an  excellent 
article  of  light  fuel,  and  is  much  used  for  burning  brick,  heating 
ovens,  etc.  It  may  be  that  "  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and 
to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,"  as  mentioned  by  our  Saviour. 
Upon  the  thick  layer  of  this  wood  is  spread  a  coat  of  clay  mortar, 
and  trodden  down,  and  next  a  stratum  of  dry  earth,  six  or  eight 
inches  deep,  over  which  is  plastered  a  layer  of  mixed  straw  and  mud. 
An  occasional  depression  of  the  back  edge  of  the  roof,  furnished 
with  a  spout  a  few  feet  long,  conducts  off  the  water.  The  soil  is  so 
tenacious  in  all  parts  of  Persia  that  there  is  little  danger  of  a  roof 
thus  constructed  being  pervious  to  rain,  if  kept  in  a  state  of  good  re- 
pair. It  should  be  annually  plastered  over  with  the  straw  and  mud, 
which  will  be  worn  and  washed  off  by  the  exposure  of  a  season,  and 
snow  must  be  thrown  off  with  a  shovel  as  soon  as  it  falls.  These  flat 
roofs  are  pleasant  promenades  for  summer  evening  walks,  and  the 
natives  usually  sleep  upon  them  during  the  warm  season  tor  the  sake 
of  the  cool  air  and  freedom  irom  vermin.  There  is  no  exposure  in 
thus  sleeping  out,  as  there  is  no  dew  in  Persia.  The  roofs  should  be 
secured  with  balustrades,  that  one  family  may  not  gaze  upon  the 
other's  premises.  Persian  law  sanctions  the  stoning,  without  trial  or 
mercy,  of  all  who  are  guilty  of  such  an  offence ;  and  the  reader  will 
recollect  the  sad  misfortune  and  sin  into  which  King  David  fell,  in 
consequence  of  indulging  an  idle  curiosity  while  walking  upon  the 
terrace.' 


TOPS  OF  HOUSES.  265 

Bitrder  says  :  '  The  houses  in  the  East  were  in  ancient  times,  as 
they  are  still,  generally  built  in  one  and  the  same  uniform  manner. 
The  roof  or  top  of  the  house  is  always  flat,  covered  with  broad  stones, 
or  a  strong  plaster  of  terrace,  and  guarded  on  every  side  with  a  low 
parapet  wall.  The  terrace  is  frequented  as  much  as  any  part  of  the 
house.  On  this,  as  the  season  favours,  they  walk,  they  eat,  they 
sleep,  they  transact  business,  they  perform  their  devotions.  The 
house  is  built  with  a  court  within,  into  which  chiefly  the  windows 
open  ;  those  that  open  to  the  street  are  so  obstructed  with  lattice-work 
that  no  one  without  or  within  can  see  through  them.  Whenever, 
therefore,  anything  is  to  be  seen  or  heard  in  the  streets,  everyone 
immediately  goes  up  to  the  housetop  to  satisfy  his  curiosity.  In  the 
same  manner,  when  anyone  had  occasion  to  make  anything  public, 
the  readiest  and  most  effectual  way  of  doing  it  was  to  proclaim  it 
from  the  housetops  to  the  people  in  the  streets.'  (See  Isai.  xxii.  i.) 

Van  Lannep  farther  illustrates  this  use  of  the  housetops.  *  When 
anything  of  public  interest  is  occurring  in  the  streets,  the  poorer 
houses  having  no  upper  stories  with  windows,  the  men  and  boys  rush 
out  and  line  the  thoroughfare,  while  the  veiled  women  and  girls  are 
seen  ranged  along  the  edges  of  the  terraced  roofs,  or  leaning  over 
parapets.  When  successive  shots  are  heard  in  the  town,  announcing 
an  accidental  conflagration,  or  the  breaking  in  of  a  cruel  foe  whose 
progress  is  marked  by  fire  and  sword,  men,  women,  and  children 
hasten  to  the  housetop,  and  gaze  in  anxious  groups  as  long  as  the 
danger  lasts.  On  the  occurrence  of  a  death  in  the  dwelling,  mourners, 
especially  priests,  are  stationed  upon  the  housetops,  and  attract 
public  attention  by  their  lamentations.  And  a  proclamation  is  often 
made,  as  well  as  an  address  to  the  people,  from  the  flat  roof  of  a 
government  house,  which  looks  down  upon  the  meidan,  or  public 
square.' 

Idolatries  referred  to  by  Ezekiel. 

EZEKIEL  viii.  10  :  'All  the  idols  of  the  house  of  Israel' 

Question. —  What  special  features  of  idolatry  were,  on  this  occasion, 
brought  to  the  notice  of  Ezekiel  ? 

Answer. — It  is  uniformly  observed  that  those  who  become 
perverts,  giving  up  one  religion  and  accepting  another,  are  very  ex- 
travagant and  intense  in  their  zeal  for  the  new  system  which  they 
adopt.  In  many  cases  there  is  also  found  a  great  readiness  to  change 
again  when  a  change  has  once  been  made.  The  Israelites  became 
perverts.  Once  loosened  from  the  sole  and  supreme  claims  of 


266      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Jehovah,  they  were  easily  enticed  by  the  heathen  and  idolatrous 
systems  of  the  nations  immediately  around  them. 

The  more  prominent  systems  which  they  adopted  were  (i)  that  of 
the  Canaanites,  whom  they  were  to  have  driven  wholly  out  of  the 
land,  but  who  were  weakly  left  to  become  a  snare.  In  connection 
with  these  we  may  refer  to  the  influence  of  the  coarse  forms  of 
idolatry  established  among  the  Moabites,  Edomites,  Ammonites,  etc., 
nations  closely  associated  with  Israel.  (2)  The  next  great  influence 
was  exerted  by  Phoenician  Baalism,  in  its  various  forms ;  the  princi- 
pal patrons  of  this  licentious  system  being  Ahab  and  his  priestess- 
wife  Jezebel.  (3)  It  is  singular  to  find  that  the  Egyptian  idolatry  so 
little  influenced  the  Israelites  before  the  time  of  the  later  and  decay- 
ing monarchy.  The  idea  of  Aaron's  calf,  and  the  idea  of  Jeroboam's 
calves,  may  be  traced  to  Egyptian  associations,  but  even  though  Solo- 
mon married  an  Egyptian  princess,  the  rites  of  that  country  seemed  to 
gain  little  favour  in  Israel,  until  the  later  kings  sought  alliance  with 
Egypt  as  a  defence  against  the  invasion  of  Assyria.  The  prophet 
Ezekiel  lived  in  a  time  when  the  apostates  from  Jehovah  were  wildly 
seeking  safety  in  the  help  of  all  the  gods  of  whom  they  could  hear. 

Brief  notices  may  be  given  of  the  more  prominent  forms  of  idolatry 
to  which  Ezekiel  refers.  Our  information  is  taken  from  a  valuable 
additional  note  in  the  Speaker's  Comme?itary. 

1.  Canaanite  Worship. — The  children  of  Israel,  when  they  entered 
the  land  of  promise,  found  the  inhabitants  devoted  to  nature-worship, 
expressed  in  rites  most  cruel  and  impure.     These  rites  too   soon 
proved  very  attractive  to  the  conquerors,  and  retained  their  hold  up 
to   the  time  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
though  often  repressed  by  pious  rulers,  and  often  partially  supplanted 
by  new  and  more  popular  forms  of  idolatry.     Possibly  the  idolatry  of 
the  high  places  was  a  relic  of  the  Canaanite  system. 

2.  Egyptian     Idolatry. — Professor      Wilkins    explains     that    the 
'  religion  of  the  Egyptians   was  too  sensuous,  too   subtle,  and  too 
formal  and  petty  in  its  details  to  present  any  very  great  attractions  to 
the  simpler  and  less  artificial  Hebrews,  and  it  was  soon  made  still 
more  distasteful   to   them  when   its  adherents  became   their  cruel 
oppressors.'    We  have  never  felt  quite  satisfied  that  Aaron  made  his 
calf  in  imitation  of  the  Egyptian  Apis  or  Mnevis.     We  have  the 
impression  that  the  form  given  to  Aaron's  visible  representative  of 
the  absent  God  must  have  had  some  patriarchal  association.     The 
idea  of  Aaron  copying  the  idol  figure  of  the  oppressors'  religion  is 
very  difficult  to  entertain.     It  is  more  likely  that  the  calf  was   the 
tribal  sign  of  the  Hebrews,  as  a  pastoral  people. 


IDOLATRIES  REFERRED  TO  BY  EZEKIEL.     267 

However  that  may  be,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Ezekiel  makes 
reference  to  the  idolatry  of  Egypt  as,  in  his  time,  established  in 
Judah.  Possibly  it  was  introduced  when  Pharaoh  Necho  for  a  time 
subjected  the  land  to  his  sway.  (2  Kings  xxiii.  34.)  Referring  to  the 
underground  places  used  for  abominable  rites,  the  Speaker's  Commen- 
tary says  :  '  Belzoni's  discoveries  in  the  early  part  of  the  present 
century  brought  to  light  many  subterranean  chambers  in  rocks  upon 
the  shores  of  the  Nile.  These  were  used  as  sepulchres  berth  for 
kings  and  private  persons.  The  walls  were  uniformly  adorned  by 
painted  figures,  depicting  embassies  from  foreign  nations,  or  the 
occupations  of  ordinary  life,  and  by  hieroglyphical  characters,  some 
of  which  were  representative  of  the  objects  of  idolatrous  worship. 
The  most  remarkable  of  these  chambers  are  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings 
at  Biban-el-Molouk,  and  also  at  Gourneh  near  Thebes.  Belzoni 
found  access  into  one  of  these  by  a  hole  in  the  wall,  which  gave  no 
sign  of  a  regular  entrance.  We  have  no  evidence  that  these  sepulchral 
chambers  were  used  as  places  of  worship,  but  their  position,  and  the 
adornments,  some  of  which  at  least  were  objects  of  idolatry,  fitted 
them  for  the  scene  of  the  ideal  picture  by  which  Ezekiel  represented 
Egyptian  idolatry.' 

3.  Baalism. — Some  think  that  Baal,  Moloch,  and  Chemosh  were 
originally  different  names  of  the  same  divinity ;  but  by  Baalism  we 
distinctively  mean  the  Phoenician  system  introduced  into  Israel  by 
the  dynasty  of  Omri.     Baalim  and  Ashtoreth,  in  the  plural  form, 
represent   the  plurality  of  the  host   of  heaven ;   and   Baalism   was 
really  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies.     Professor  Wilkins  tells  us 
that  the  great  Nature-power,  the  Sun-god,  Baal,  was  viewed  in  three 
ways  :  i.  As  Baal  Samim,  or  Adonis,  the  fresh  young  sun  of  spring, 
full  of  creative  force,  calling  all  vegetable  life  into  luxuriant  fertility, 
and  kindling  in  the  animal  world  the  fire  of  youthful  passion.     2.  As 
the  fierce  sun  of  summer,  like  Tantalus,  burning  up  the  fruits  and 
flowers  that  owe  their  life  to  him — Baal,  Mars,   or  Moloch,   the 
terrible  god  of  fire.     3.  As  the  principle  of  order,  unity,  and  stead- 
fastness in  the  universe — the  power  which  held  the  world  together 
when  the  beautiful  Adonis  had  been  slain  by  the  fury  of  Moloch, 
which,  albeit  in  gloom  and  darkness,  husbanded  and  gathered  the 
exhausted  powers  of  nature  for  new  creative  exertions,   when  the 
world  should  be  gladdened  again  by  the  birth  of  the  life-giving  sun  of 
spring ;  this  was  Baal-Chewan,  identified  with  Saturn. 

4.  Sun- Worship,    distinct   from  the    Baal   representations.      The 
worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  was  one  of  the  earliest  forms  of 
idolatry   (Job  xxxi.   26),   and  was  expressly  forbidden   in   the  law 


268      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

(Deut.  xvii.  3).  But  among  the  Arabians,  in  its  earliest  form,  it  was 
conducted  without  the  intervention  of  images,  the  adoration  being 
addressed  to  the  heavenly  bodies  themselves.  This  form,  continued 
among  the  Persians,  seems  to  have  been  introduced  afresh  into 
Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  Ezekiel  (viii.  16).  Connected  with  this 
form  of  idolatry  were  the  horses  that  the  kings  of  Judah  had  given  to 
the  sun  (2  Kings  xxiii.  n),  and  probably  the  altars  which  were  on 
the  top  of  the  upper  chamber  of  Ahaz  (2  Kings  xxiii.  12),  and  the 
images  (marg.  *  sun-images  ')  of  Ezekiel  vi.  4,  6,  which  were  columns 
set  up  in  honour  of  the  sun,  not  images  in  human  form.  These 
columns  would  make  a  kind  of  sun-dial  by  their  shadows. 

5.  Thammuz-  Worship. — A  form  of  nature-worship,  like  the  worship 
of  Adonis.  '  The  death  of  Adonis  symbolized  the  suspension  of  the 
productive  powers  of  nature,  which  were  in  due  time  revived.  The 
excitements  attendant  on  this  alternate  wailing  and  rejoicing,  which 
was  especially  popular  among  the  women,  led  by  inevitable  conse- 
quence to  unbridled  license  and  excess.  This  was  in  Ezekiel's  day 
one  of  the  most  detestable  forms  of  idolatry.7 


The  Evil-Eye. 

I  SAMUEL  xviii.  9  :  'And  Saul  eyed  David  from  that  day  and  forward.' 

Question.  —  Can  this  reference  be  supposed  to  give  Scriptural  sanc- 
tion to  the  superstitious  notions  that  are  entertained  concerning  the  '  evil- 


Answer.  —  Certainly  not.  It  simply  reflects  the  notions  and 
sentiments  of  the  age,  and  leaves  us  free  to  correct  those  notions 
with  the  aid  of  our  more  full  and  accurate  medical  and  scientific 
knowledge.  It  was  the  eye  of  jealousy  and  of  revengeful  purpose 
with  which  Saul  looked  on  David  —  a  diseased  eye  ;  but  the  looking 
would,  of  itself,  do  David  no  mischief. 

Thomson,  in  Land  and  Book,  says  :  *  The  belief  in  the  malignant 
potency  of  the  evil-eye  is  very  prevalent  with  all  classes  of  Syrian 
society.  So  ridiculously  afraid  are  they  of  this  blight,  that,  if  you 
merely  look  at  a  child,  especially  if  it  be  pretty,  you  must  repeat  the 
name  of  the  prophet,  of  God,  or  of  the  Virgin,  with  a  brief  petition 
for  protection,  or  at  least  say,  Mashallah  (an  exclamation  of  admira- 
tion or  praise  to  God).  If  you  extol  the  beauty  of  a  horse,  you 
must  immediately  spit  on  it  ;  and  the  same  is  done  sometimes  to  a 
child;  more  frequently,  however,  they  merely  blow  in  its  face  and 
repeat  a  charm.  The  bright  red  or  white  figures  made  on  fig-trees 


THE  EVIL-EYE.  269 

are  designed  to  attract  the  eye  from  the  fruit,  lest  it  should  wither 
and  fall.  In  short,  against  this  mysterious  source  of  evil  there  are 
countless  charms  and  counter-charms.' 

Gadsby  has  some  curious  notes  on  the  superstitious  customs  con- 
nected with  belief  in  the  'evil-eye.'  'In  some  parts,  as  soon  as  a 
child  is  born  it  is  covered  with  amulets  ;  and  a  piece  of  mud,  duly 
blessed  by  the  priests,  and  softened  in  holy  water,  which  is  believed 
to  possess  a  peculiar  charm,  is  plastered  on  its  forehead,  to  keep  off 
what  is  called  the  "evil-eye."  Even  horses  and  camels  are  made 
to  wear  charms,  and  children  have  them  in  cases  on  their  foreheads, 
to  keep  off  the  evil-eye.  I  was  once  at  Mrs.  M.'s,  at  Boulac,  when 
two  Turkish  ladies  came  to  see  her.  One  of  them  took  Mrs.  M.'s 
little  boy  into  her  arms,  exclaiming,  "  Mashallah  !"  (It  is  God's  will) ; 
when  Mrs.  M.,  mother-like,  said,  "  Look  at  his  fat  legs !"  "  Oh  1" 
both  the  ladies  exclaimed,  "  Mashallah  !"  (It  was  God's  will  that  the 
boy  should  have  fat  legs),  and  immediately  spat  on  the  floor.  This 
was  to  prevent  any  ill  effects  from  Mrs.  M.'s  remark.' 

'  We  were  talking  about  Hajji's  boy  one  day,  when  Hajji,  who  is 
remarkably  quick  of  hearing,  overheard  us.  Shortly  afterwards  I 
went  out  and  saw  the  boy  with  a  very  nicely  striped  vest  on,  of  various 
colours.  "  Hajji,"  said  I,  "  what  has  the  boy  put  that  on  for  ?" 
"  You  talk  about  my  boy,"  he  replied.  "  And  is  that  to  keep  off  the 
evil-eye  ?"  I  asked  He  laughed,  and  said,  "  Who  tell  you  that  ? 
That  is  true,  Mr.  Gadsby.  Maloom,  maloom  "  (Certainly,  certainly). 
"  You  know  all,  everything,  like  God." 

*  In  confirmation  of  my  remarks  about  the  evil-eye,  I  may  quote 
Mr.  Wortabot,  a  Syrian,  who  says :  "  If  there  is  anything  which 
horrifies  the  parents  in  Syria  more  than  another,  it  is  to  have  their 
boy  praised ;  and  were  the  child  to  die  after  praises  had  been  lavished 
on  him,  most  assuredly  they  would  lay  the  evil  at  the  door  of  those 
who  had  praised  him."' 

Mr.  Lane  says :  '  It  is  often  the  case  that  those  children  who  are 
most  petted  and  beloved  are  the  dirtiest  and  worst  clad.  Their 
mothers  purposely  leave  them  unwashed  from  fear  of  the  evil-eye ; 
but  at  the  same  time,  perhaps,  they  will  be  half  covered  with  orna- 
ments. The  effort  is  to  keep  you  from  admiring  the  child.  You 
may  admire  the  ornaments,  but  not  the  child,  lest  some  evil  should 
befall  it.' 

In  heathen  lands  the  belief  in  the  evil-eye  very  extensively  prevails. 
An  enemy  is  supposed  to  be  able,  by  a  look,  to  bewitch  persons  and 
even  cattle. 


270      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
The  Weight  of  the  Ammonite  Crown. 

2  SAMUEL  xii.  30  :  '  And  he  took  the  crown  of  their  king  from  off  his  head  ; 
and  the  weight  thereof  was  a  talent  of  gold,  and  in  it  were  precious  stones  ;  and  it 
was  set  on  David's  head.' 

Difficulty. — It  would  surely  be  impossible  for  anyone  to  bear  the 
weight  of  such  a  crown. 

Explanation. — It  is  probable  that  reference  is  intended  to  the 
crown  of  the  Ammonite  god,  and  not  of  the  Ammonite  king.  In  the 
Hebrew  '  their  king '  is  expressed  by  the  one  word  Malcom,  which  is 
also  the  name  of  the  great  idol  of  the  Ammonites ;  and  although  no 
living  man  could  wear  a  crown  of  one  hundred  pounds  weight,  a  god  of 
metal,  wood,  or  stone,  might  support  a  head-dress  much  heavier.  It  is 
probable,  then,  that  the  crown  was  taken  from  the  head  of  Malcom, 
or  Moloch,  the  Ammonite  god,  not  from  the  Ammonite  king. 

There  still  remains  the  difficulty  of  this  heavy  crown  being  placed 
on  the  head  of  David.  The  translation  says  that  the  crown  was 
ornamented  with  precious  stones  ;  but  the  Hebrew  mentions  only  one 
stone.  Possibly  there  was  one  large  stone  set  in  the  huge  crown, 
and  this  stone  may  have  been  transferred  to  the  royal  crown  of 
David. 

Two  other  suggestions  have  been  made.  Instead  of  the  '  weight,' 
we  should  read  the  '  value.'  They  took  the  crown,  which  was  valued 
at  a  talent,  and  there  were  precious  stones  in  it.  "" 

Others  suppose  that  the  crown  was  melted  down,  purified,  and 
refined,  and  made  anew  for  David,  and  adorned  with  its  jewels,  and 
then  set  upon  David's  head. 

Dr.  Gardiner  says  :  '  The  silver  talent  was  above  a  hundred  pounds, 
and  the  gold  talent  twice  as  much.  But  there  were  various  other 
Eastern  talents,  as  the  Babylonian  and  Persian,  of  much  smaller 
weight,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  a  light  talent  may  have  been  in  use 
among  the  Ammonites.  The  weight,  however,  on  any  reasonable 
supposition,  would  have  been  too  great  to  allow  of  this  crown  being 
commonly  worn.' 

Kitto  gives  some  good  reasons  for  thinking  that  the  English  Version 
is  correct,  and  that  the  weight  of  the  crown  is  intended.  It  was  pro- 
bably a  crown  used  only  for  a  short  time  on  great  state  ceremonials. 
Crowns  are  only  so  used  in  the  East,  or  indeed  anywhere  else ;  and 
they  are  generally  of  such  weight  that  they  cannot  long  be  borne 
without  inconvenience.  The  '  weight  of  a  crown '  is  not  only  a 
figurative  truth,  but  a  material  fact.  Sir  Harford  Jones  Brydges,  who 
had  an  opportunity  of  examining  the  Persian  regalia  at  leisure, 


UNCLEANNESS  BY  CONTACT  WITH  THE  DEAD.  271 

describes  the  crown  of  state  as  excessively  heavy.  The  same  ambas- 
sador relates  that,  happening  to  look  back,  on  quitting  the  audience- 
chamber,  he  saw  the  king  lifting  the  crown  from  his  head,  as  if 
anxious  to  relieve  himself  from  its  oppressive  weight.  But  the 
ponderous  crowns  were  not  always  even  worn  upon  the  head ;  they 
were  sometimes  suspended  over  it,  or  attached  to  the  top  of  the 
throne.  Several  crowns  of  great  size  and  weight  thus  used  are 
mentioned  by  Athenaeus  and  by  Pliny.  Among  them,  one  is  described 
by  the  former  writer  as  being  composed  of  10,000  pieces  of  gold,  and 
placed  on  the  throne  of  King  Ptolemy.  Benjamin  of  Tudela  speaks 
of  a  crown  of  gold  and  gems  suspended  over  the  throne  of  the 
Emperor  Commenes.  Some  of  the  Rabbins  have  a  curious  conceit, 
that  the  Ammonitish  crown  .was  kept  in  suspension  by  a  loadstone, 
as  if  the  loadstone  attracted  gold  as  well  as  iron. 

Uncleanness  by  Contact  with  the  Dead. 

NUMBERS  xix.  1 1  :  'He  that  toucheth  the  dead  body  of  any  man  shall  be 
unclean  seven  days.' 

Difficulty. — Did  not  this  regulation  needlessly  add  to  the  family 
trouble  and  anxiety  in  times  of  death  ? 

Explanation. — In  the  hot  Eastern  countries  it  was  supremely 
necessary  to  secure  sanitary  precautions  in  connection  with  disease 
and  death,  and  the  earliest  possible  burial  of  the  dead,  and  the 
affixing  of  seven  days'  uncleanness,  and  consequent  separation  from 
family  life,  for  all  who  touched  the  dead,  in  a  very  simple  way  effected 
both  these  ends,  and  a  little  family  disability  might  well  be  borne 
cheerfully  for  the  sake  of  the  common  weal. 

Those  who  tended  the  body  to  the  grave  would  be  glad  to  have 
the  burial  over  as  soon  as  possible,  so  that  their  separation  time  might 
not  be  prolonged ;  and,  in  cases  of  death  from  infectious  diseases, 
seven  days  would  suffice  to  develop  the  germs  of  the  disease,  if  the 
nurse  had  taken  it. 

This  is  the  simplest  explanation,  and  it  is  sufficient;  but  it  has 
further  been  suggested  that  Moses  may  have  intended  to  correct  a 
practice  not  uncommon  in  the  East,  of  leaving  the  dead  to  be  devoured 
by  wild  beasts.  And  it  may  also  have  been  designed  as  a  reproof  of 
the  unnatural  system  of  embalming,  with  which  the  Hebrews  had 
been  familiarized  in  Egypt. 

Seeking  for  the  deeper  religious  significance  of  this  regulation,  we 
note  that  God  revealed  His  mind  and  will  to  men,  in  the  older  dayo, 
through  their  lives  and  relations.  He  treated  death  as  the  comple- 


272      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

tion,  the  representative,  of  sin ;  and  His  treatment  of  death,  and  ot 
those  directly  related  to  death,  was  designed  to  carry  home  to  men's 
hearts  His  view  of  sin.  How  terrible  a  thing  that  must  be,  only  the 
touch  of  which  brought  seven  days'  separation  !  It  was  really  sin  ; 
for  '  sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death.' 

Plucking  off  the  Shoe  as  a  Testimony. 

RUTH  iv.  7 :  *  Now  this  was  the  custom  in  former  time  in  Israel  concerning 
redeeming  and  concerning  exchanging,  for  to  confirm  all  things  ;  a  man  drew  oft 
his  shoe,  and  gave  it  to  his  neighbour  :  and  this  was  the  manner  of  attestation  in 
Israel'  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — There  does  not  appear  to  be  any  rational  connection 
between  taking  off  a  shoe,  and  passing  it  to  another ,  and  the  sealing  of 
a  business  or  family  contract. 

Explanation.— Several  accounts  are  given  of  this  ancient  custom, 
and  we  cannot  readily  decide  to  which  the  preference  should  be 
given.  As  no  documents  were  used  in  ancient  times,  but  all  business- 
contracts  were  made  in  public,  at  the  gates  of  the  cities,  we  can 
understand  that  some  formal  ceremony  would  be  gone  through, 
which  witnesses  might  observe.  And,  as  the  contracts  usually  con- 
cerned the  transfer  of  land,  the  ceremony  would  be  one  specially 
significant  to  such  contracts,  and  made  to  apply  to  all  others.  We 
may  compare  our  way  of  putting  the  finger  on  the  seal  of  a  deed, 
after  signing  it,  and  repeating  the  words,  '  So  help  me  God.' 

Bishop  Wordsworth  regards  the  transfer  of  the  shoe  as  a  symbol  of 
the  transfer  of  the  property ;  and  a  public  acknowledgment  that  he, 
to  whom  the  shoe  was  given,  might  tread  on  the  property  as  his  own 
by  the  same  right  as  he,  who  gave  the  shoe,  had  formerly  trodden 
upon  it.  Our  interest  in  Ruth  prevents  us  from  fully  recognising 
that  the  business  done  was  really  a  transfer  of  rights  to  Naomi's 
property,  and  that  the  matter  of  Ruth  was  only  what  we  should  call  a 
condition  of  the  purchase  of  the  land.  The  ceremony  of  the  shoe 
was,  therefore,  strictly  appropriate. 

Dr.  S.  Cox  reminds  us  that  while  this  was  the  legal  form  for 
confirming  or  binding  legal  or  commercial  transactions,  it  was 
associated,  in  a  special  way,  with  the  faithfulness  of  a  family  goel 
to  his  obligations.  The  Mosaic  rule  is  given  in  Deut.  xxv.  5-10, 
and  runs  as  follows  :  *  If  kinsmen  dwell  together,  and  one  of  them 
die,  and  have  no  child,  the  wife  of  the  dead  shall  not  marry 
outside '  (i.e.  outside  the  family  circle),  *  unto  a  stranger ;  her 
husband's  kinsman  shall  go  in  unto  her,  and  take  her  to  wife,  and 
perform  the  duty  of  a  husband's  kinsman  unto  her.  And  it  shall  be 


PLUCKING  OFF  THE  SHOE  AS  A  TESTIMONY.  273 

that  the  firstborn  whom  she  beareth  shall  stand  upon  the  name '  (i.e. 
take  the  place,  or  arise  in  the  place)  '  of  the  kinsman  who  is  dead,  that 
his  name  be  not  wiped  out  of  Israel.  And  if  the  man  like  not  to  take 
his  kinsman's  wife,  then  let  his  kinsman's  wife  go  up  to  the  gate,  unto 
the  elders,  and  say,  My  husband's  kinsman  refuseth  to  raise  up  unto 
his  kinsman  a  name  in  Israel ;  he  will  not  do  the  duty  of  my  husband's 
kinsman.  Then  the  elders  of  the  city  shall  call  him,  and  speak  unto 
him ;  and  if  he  stand  to  it,  and  say,  I  like  not  to  take  her  ;  then  shall 
his  kinsman's  wife  come  unto  him  in  the  presence  of  the  elders,  and 
loose  his  shoe  from  off  his  foot,  and  spit  in  his  face '  (probably  it 
should  read,  *  spit  before  his  face '),  *  and  shall  answer  and  say,  So  let 
it  be  done  unto  the  man  who  will  not  build  up  his  kinsman's  house. 
And  his  name  shall  be  called  in  Israel,  House  of  the  Shoe  taken  off' 
(/.*.,  anyone  might  call  him  *  Baresole,'  without  committing  a  legal 
offence) ;  his  family  would  be  stigmatised  as  the  family  of  a  shoeless 
or  barefooted  vagabond,  '  shoeless  fellow '  being  equivalent  to 
*  miserable  fellow,'  since  it  was  only  in  extreme  penury  and  misery 
that  the  Hebrews  went  barefoot.  In  the  case  of  Boaz  the  indignity 
of  the  spitting  was  avoided,  probably  by  the  matter  being  treated 
simply  as  one  of  land  transfer ;  the  kinsman's  scruples  as  to  marrying 
a  Moabitess  being  admitted.  4 

Illustrating  the  symbolic  use  of  the  shoe  from  Indian  customs, 
Roberts  says  :  '  Does  a  priest,  a  father,  or  a  respectable  friend,  resolve 
to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  some  distant  country ;  some  one  will 
perhaps  say,  "  Ah,  he  will  never  return  ;  he  intends  to  remain  in  those 
holy  places."  Should  he  deny  it,  then  they  say,  "  Give  us  your  shoes 
as  a  witness  of  your  promise,"  and  having  done  so,  never  will  he 
break  it.  An  affectionate  widow  never  parts  with  her  late  husband's 
shoes  ;  they  are  placed  near  her  when  she  sleeps  ;  she  kisses  and  puts 
her  head  upon  them,  and  nearly  every  time  after  bathing  she  goes  to 
look  at  them.  These,  therefore,  are  the  "  testimony,"  the  melancholy 
confirmation  of  her  husband's  death.' 

The  association  of  the  shoe  with  marriage  customs  in  Barbary  is 
illustrated  by  Urquhart,  in  his  work  Pillars  of  Hercules :  *  At  a 
Jewish  marriage  I  was  standing  beside  the  bridegroom  when  the 
bride  entered ;  and,  as  she  crossed  the  threshhold,  he  stooped  down 
and  slipped  off  his  shoe,  and  struck  her  with  the  heel  on  the  nape  of 
the  neck.  I  at  once  saw  the  interpretation  of  the  passage  in  Scrip- 
ture respecting  the  transfer  of  the  shoe  to  another,  in  case  the 
brother-in-law  did  not  exercise  his  privilege.  The  slipper,  being  taken 
off  indoors,  is  placed  at  the  edge  of  the  small  carpets  on  which  you 
sit,  and  is  at  hand  to  administer  correction,  and  is  here  used  in  sign 
of  the  obedience  of  the  wife  and  the  supremacy  of  the  husband.1 

18 


274      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


David's   Dancing. 


2  SAMUEL  vi.  16  :  'And  as  the  ark  of  the  Lord  came  into  the  city  of  David, 
Michal,  Saul's  daughter,  looked  through  a  window,  and  saw  King  David  leaping 
and  dancing  before  the  Lord  ;  and  she  despised  him  in  her  heart.' 

Question. —  What  was  the  dancing  referred  to  here,  and  why  did 
it  excite  the  contempt  of  this  princess  ? 

Answer. — Nothing  of  the  character  of  our  set  dances,  as  at  balls 
and  parties,  can  be  intended  here.  In  ancient  times  they  had  no 
idea  of  what  we  call  '  dance-music/  nor  of  arranging  movements  in 
response  to  formal  music.  Always  and  everywhere  emotions  of  joy 
and  sorrow  express  themselves  in  movements  and  gestures  of  the 
body.  Children  always  did.  and  always  will,  dance.  In  David's  case 
we  have  simply  the  natural  rhythmical  movements  of  body  which 
find  expression  for  pleasurable  excitements.  *  The  dance  is  spoken 
of  in  Holy  Scripture  universally  as  symbolical  of  some  rejoicing.  In 
the  earlier  period  it  is  found  combined  with  some  song  or  refrain, 
and  with  the  tambourine,  or  timbrel,  more  especially  in  those 
impulsive  outbursts  of  popular  feeling  which  cannot  find  sufficient 
vent  in  voice  or  in  gesture.  Nor  is  there  any  more  strongly  popular 
element  traceable  in  the  religion  of  the  ancient  Jews  than  the 
opportunity  so  given  to  a  prophet  or  prophetess  to  kindle  enthusiasm 
for  Jehovah  on  momentous  crises  of  national  joy,  and  thus  root  the 
theocracy  in  their  deepest  feelings,  more  especially  in  those  of  the 
women,  themselves  most  easily  stirred,  and  most  capable  of  exciting 
others.  The  dance  was  regarded  even  by  the  Romans  as  the  worship 
of  the  body,  and  thus  had  a  place  amongst  sacred  things.' 

We  can  get  a  better  idea  of  Eastern  dancing  from  the  movements 
of  the  Italians  in  our  streets,  who  dance  to  the  sound  of  their 
tambourines,  than  from  the  dancing  of  evening  parties. 

What  occurred  on  the  festive  day,  to  which  this  passage  refers, 
seems  to  have  been  as  follows :  When  David  found  the  Divine 
blessing  was  resting  on  his  better-advised  plan  for  removing  the  ark, 
and  was  granting  him  good  success,  he  sacrificed  seven  bullocks  and 
seven  rams ;  and  *  when  this  act  of  worship  was  completed,  a 
procession  was  formed,  David  laying  aside  his  heavy  royal  robe, 
girding  himself  with  a  priestly  ephod,  joining  in  the  procession, 
sharing,  and  even  leading,  the  excitement  of  delight  with  which 
it  moved  toward  the  city  of  Zion,  and  its  appointed  resting-place. 
The  clang  of  symbols,  the  blast  of  trumpets,  the  chant  of  priests,  the 
shout  of  the  people,  all  raised  David's  feeling  of  joy  to  so  high  a  pitch, 
that  when  the  gates  of  the  city  were  entered,  and  the  music  waxed 


DA  VWS  DANCING.  275 

louder,  and  started  the  natural  rhythmical  movement  known  as 
dancing,  David  could  not  restrain  himself,  but  joined  in  the 
measured  movement,  the  swaying  to  and  fro,  and  round  and  round, 
that  must  have  been  very  similar  to  the  dancing  now  practised  by  the 
Eastern  dervishes.' 

Kitto  suggests  that  David  took  the  place  as  leader  of  the  choir  of 
women  with  timbrels  and  dances ' ;  the  position  of  Miriam  in  the 
olden  time,  perhaps  the  position  which  Michal  ought  to  have  taken. 

A.  Lapide  compares  the  history  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  who,  when 
Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  sometimes  took  his  place,  and  sang  in  the 
choir  of  his  parish  church,  in  a  surplice.  And  when  the  Duke  of  Norfolk 
expostulated  with  him,  as  Michal  did  with  David,  for  degrading  him- 
self and  the  king's  service,  he  said,  '  Nay,  your  Grace  may  not  think 
that  the  king  my  master  will  be  offended  with  me  for  the  serving  of 
God  his  master.' 

4  It  is  evident  that  when  the  king  danced  before  the  ark,  he  laid 
aside  his  robe,  and  wore  only  his  ephod  and  drawers.  Michal,  his 
wife,  looked  through  a  window,  and,  seeing  what  she  considered  his 
undignified  dress  and  demeanour,  despised  him  in  her  heart,  and 
reproached  him  in  language  which  seems  very  natural  to  an  Oriental 
ear/ —  Van  Lennep. 

In  what  Sense  was  Samuel  'lent  to  the  Lord'? 

I  SAMUEL  i.  28  :  '  Therefore  also  I  have  lent  him  to  the  Lord  ;  as  long  as  he 
iiveth  he  shall  be  lent  to  the  Lord '  Margin^  *  returned  ;'  (Rev.  Ver.,  'granted '). 

Difficulty. — Seeing  that  there  was  no  place  for  a  child  in  the 
Mosaic  ritual,  whence  could  Hannah  have  obtained  the  notion  of  con- 
secrating her  boy  to  the  Tabernacle  service  ? 

Explanation. — Hannah's  act  is  certainly  difficult  for  us  to 
understand.  According  to  the  Mosaic  law,  every  first-born  male 
child  belonged  of  right  to  God,  and  must  be  devoted  to  Him.  The 
idea  seems  to  have  been  that  such  a  child  must  be  offered  in  sacrifice 
to  Him,  and  of  this  idea  we  find  the  relic  in  the  prophetical  exclama- 
tion, *  Shall  I  give  my  first-born  for  my  transgression,  the  fruit  of  my 
body  for  the  good  of  my  soul  ?'  Moses  arranged  for  the  redemption 
of  the  first-born  by  the  offering  of  victims  in  their  stead  Hannah, 
regarding  her  child  as  a  special  gift  from  God,  and  possibly,  in  a 
prophetic  way,  anticipating  for  him  an  extraordinary  career,  refused 
to  redeem  her  boy,  but  returned  him  to  the  Lord,  that  he  might  be  a 
living,  life-long  sacrifice,  in  himself  a  testimony  for  the  supreme 
claims  of  Jehovah  to  all  an  Israelite  was,  and  to  all  he  had.  It  is 

18— 2 


276     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES 

not  sufficiently  recognised  that  in  Samuel  we  have  the  ideal  of  a 
'  living  sacrifice.' 

This,  however,  does  not  meet  the  difficulty  of  a  mere  child  being 
left  at  the  Tabernacle.  Perhaps  Samuel  was  older  than  at  first  sight 
appears,  when  his  mother  left  him  with  Eli.  If  he  "was  only  just 
weaned  from  the  usual  Eastern  three  years'  nursing,  it  is  certain  that 
he  would  still  be  needing  daily  motherly  care  ;  but  this  could  readily 
have  been  found,  as  the  wives  of  the  priests  would  be  lodging  in  close 
association  with  the  tabernacle,  and  we  cannot  suppose  Eli  to  have 
dwelt  within  the  tabernacle  itself.  Tents  for  the  priests  may  have 
been  set  up  in  the  sides  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  within  the  enclosed 
space.  Hannah,  must,  however,  have  acted  on  a  Divine  inspiration, 
for  she  had  no  precedent  for  her  scheme ;  and  this  inspiration  Eli 
must  have  recognised,  and  regarded  as  sufficient  reason  for  his  per- 
mitting so  strange  and  unusual  a  thing. 

On  the  probable  age  of  Samuel  when  taken  to  Eli,  a  very  curious 
suggestion  has  been  made  by  Comestor,  who  wrote  in  A.D.  1473,  which 
would  greatly  relieve  the  difficulty  of  the  case,  if  we  could  confidently 
accept  it.  He  says  that  there  was  a  threefold  weaning  of  children  in 
old  times :  the  first  from  the  mother's  milk,  when  they  were  three 
years  old ;  the  second  from  their  tender  age,  and  the  care  of  a  nurse 
when  they  were  seven  years  of  age ;  and  the  third  from  childish  ways 
when  they  reached  the  age  of  twelve.  We  can  imagine  Samuel  would 
be  of  some  service  in  waiting  on  Eli  at  the  age  of  seven,  but  twelve  is 
the  yet  more  likely  age. 

Samuel  was  not  designed  for  a  priest,  and  no  one  concerned  in  his 
childhood  seems  to  have  had  any  intimation  of  the  work  that  would 
be  entrusted  to  him.  He  was  to  be  a  prophet,  the  first  of  the  pro- 
phetic order,  and  the  founder  of  that  order.  He  was  to  mediate 
between  the  people  and  God  in  the  matter  of  appointing  a  king  for 
the  nation  ;  and  he  was  to  maintain  the  supreme  claims  of  Jehovah 
under  the  new  regime.  It  was  an  essential  to  his  efficiency  for  this 
work  that  the  public  impression  concerning  him  should  be  that  of  a 
man  wholly  devoted  to  God  from  infancy.  Wherever  Samuel  went 
throughout  his  life,  he  was  felt  to  be,  in  himself,  a  witness  for  God. 
There  is  still,  and  there  always  will  be,  a  specially  gracious  power 
upon  us  of  those  men  and  women  among  us  who  are  known  to  have 
served  God  from  their  childhood. 

Dmn  Stanley  dwells  on  the  importance  of  Samuel's  relation  to  the 
older  Mosaic  system,  which  was  now  to  undergo  important  modifica 
tions.  {  He  had  been  brought  up  and  nurtured  in  the  ancient  system. 
His  childhood  had  been  spent  in  the  Sacred  Tent  of  Shiloh,  the  last 


MARRIAGE   WITH  A    WIFE'S  SISTER.  277 

relic  of  the  wanderings  of  the  desert.  His  early  dedication  to  the 
sanctuary  belonged  to  that  age  of  vows  of  which  the  excess  appears 
in  the  rash  and  hasty  vows  of  Jephthah,  of  Saul,  and  of  the  assembly 
at  Mizpah  ;  in  the  more  regular,  but  still  peculiar  and  eccentric, 
devotion  of  Samson  to  the  life  of  a  Nazarite. 

Marriage  with  a  Wife's  Sister. 

LEVITICUS  xviii.  18  :  '  Neither  shalt  thou  take  a  wife  to  her  sister  .  .  .  beside 
the  other  in  her  life-time.' 

Difficulty. — Does  tlie  limitation  of  this  command  involve  liberty  to 
enter  into  this  relationship  when  the  condition  of  limitation  is  removed? 

Explanation. — We  have  no  concern  in  these  paragraphs  with 
the  social  and  ecclesiastical  controversies  which  have  gathered  round 
this  subject.  We  can  only  attempt  to  remove  the  literary  difficulties 
of  the  passage. 

The  term  which  is  translated  '  sister,'  achoth,  may  mean  a  sister  in 
blood-relationship,  but  Bishop  Wordsworth  admits  that  'it  is  not 
certain  whether  the  word  "  achoth  "  is  to  be  here  rendered  a  sister  in 
blood.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  phrases  which  would  be  literally 
rendered  "  a  woman  to  her  sister,"  and  "  a  man  to  his  brother,"  occur 
more  than  thirty  times  in  the  Hebrew  Bible,  and  never  in  these 
instances  designate  the  ^^/-relationship  of  two  sisters  or  two  brothers, 
but  simply  the  addition  of  one  person  or  thing  to  another  of  the 
same  kind.  Accordingly,  in  the  margin  of  our  Authorised  Version, 
the  words  are  rendered  here,  one  wife  to  another.  So  the  words  are 
here  understood  by  Junius,  Tremellius,  Drusius,  Calovius,  Beza, 
Ainsworth,  Willett,  Hammond,  Schleusner,  etc' 

If  the  verse  be  only  a  prohibition  of  polygamy,  we  can  clearly 
understand  the  character  of  the  limitation,  in  her  life-time.  A  man 
may  not  bring  to  his  home  a  second  wife  while  his  first  wife  lives,  but 
he  is  free  to  bring  the  person  he  favours  to  his  home  as  a  wife  when  the 
first  wife  is  dead.  The  law  in  respect  to  second  marriages  is  referred 
to  by  the  Apostle  Paul  as  well  recognised.  (See  Romans  vii.  1-3.) 

But  if  the  force  of  the  limitation  be  thus  admitted,  it  must  be 
applied  in  exactly  the  same  way  to  the  particular  case  of  the  desired 
second  wife  being  the  first  wife's  sister.  The  prohibition  refers  only 
to  the  conduct  of  a  man  during  his  wife's  life-time. 

Without  going  beyond  the  language  of  the  verse,  we  must  admit, 
(i)  that  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  a  wife's  sister  is  referred  to  in  it ; 
and  (2)  that,  if  she  is,  the  law  of  second  marriage  applies  to  her  as  to 
any  other  woman.  But  the  permissible  is  not  always  the  advisable. 


278      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
The  Woman-Owner  of  Ob. 

I  SAMUEL  xxviii.  7  :  'Then  said  Saul  unto  his  servants,  Seek  me  a  woman  that 
hath  a  familiar  spirit,  that  I  may  go  to  her,  and  inquire  of  her.  And  his  servants 
said  to  him,  Behold,  there  is  a  woman  that  hath  a  familiar  spirit  at  Endor.' 

Difficulty. — This  appears  to  recognise  the  wizards  and  witches  as 
really  having  some  occult  power  at  their  command. 

Explanation. — Literally  the  expression  used  is  '  the  woman 
mistress,  or  owner,  of  6b.'  Probably  the  word  db  means  '  a  skin 
bottle'  (Job  xxxii.  19),  and  it  is  apparently  employed  to  denote  the 
distended  belly  of  the  ventriloquist,  the  man  who  can  make  sounds 
appear  to  come  from  different  quarters.  It  was  in  accordance  with 
the  common  sentiment  of  the  times,  to  think  of  a  spirit  as  speaking 
from  the  belly  of  the  ventriloquist;  but  we  regard  such  abilities  merely 
as  special  endowments,  connected  with  a  peculiar  sensitiveness  of 
certain  parts  of  the  body. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  there  were  claims  made,  in  ancient  times,  of 
power  to  deal  with  the  world  of  the  dead,  and  with  the  world  of 
spirits  ;  but  it  will  always  be  disputed  whether  these  claims  had  any 
substantial  basis,  or  were  merely  the  delusions  of  superstition.  Our 
idea  is  that  when  mesmerism,  animal  magnetism,  thought-reading,  and 
spiritualism  are  more  fully  understood,  there  will  be  abundant 
material  for  the  explanation  of  all  that  is  known  concerning  witches, 
oracles,  sorcerers,  necromancers,  etc.  In  this  narrative  the  woman  is 
so  surprised  at  the  actual  appearance  of  Samuel,  that  it  is  certain  she 
had  no  power  really  to  call  up  the  dead,  and  could  only  have  attempted 
to  satisfy  Saul  by  skilful  rites  and  delusions. 

This  view,  however,  is  not  usually  taken,  and  Canon  Spence 
expresses,  with  caution,  the  hesitating  admission  of  some  kind  of 
occult  power  at  the  command  of  the  ancient  sorcerers.  Quoting 
Keil  thus,  '  Prophesying  by  the  Ob  was  probably  performed  by 
calling  up  a  departed  spirit  from  Sheol,  and  obtaining  prophecies, 
that  is,  disclosures,  concerning  one's  own  fate  through  the  medium  of 
such  a  spirit,'  Canon  Spence  adds,  *  No  other  commentator  touches 
on  the  db  here,  and  Keil  leaves  it  in  doubt  as  to  whether  he 
considered  the  db  was  some  special  spirit  devoted  to  the  service  of 
the  mistress  of  the  db,  or  the  spirit  or  soul  of  one  already  dead,  who, 
through  some  occult  power,  was  to  be  brought  back  again  for  a 
season  to  this  earth.  As  far  as  we  can  judge  of  these  old  mysteries, 
the  sorcerer  or  sorceress  possessed,  or  was  supposed  to  possess,  a 
"  familiar."  Through  the  aid  of  this  "  familiar,"  the  departed  spirit 
was  compelled  or  induced  to  revisit  this  world,  and  to  submit  to 


THE   WOMAN-OWNER  OF  OB.  279 

certain  questioning.  The  Hebrew  word  rendered  "  divine  unto  me  " 
(ver.  8)  is  of  Syriac  origin,  like  most  of  those  words  describing  illicit 
vaticinations.  This  miserable  power,  if  it  did  exist,  was  one  of  the 
things  the  Israelites  learned  from  the  original  inhabitants  of  Canaan. 
These  "  black  arts  "  as  they  have  been  called,  have  in  all  ages,  in  every 
degree  of  civilization,  always  had  an  extraordinary  fascination  for 
men.  It  is  well  known  that,  even  in  our  own  "  cultured  age,"  similar 
pretensions  are  put  forth,  and  the  dead  are  still  invoked,  summoned, 
and  questioned,  as  they  were  in  the  half-barbarous  age  when  Saul  and 
his  companions,  in  their  desperate  strait,  sought  the  witch  of 
Endor.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  says  :  '  An  old  woman,  a  sorceress,  still  lingered  at 
Endor ;  for  where  there  is  superstition  it  will  find  agents  to  turn  it  to 
profit.  Seeking  her,  in  deep  disguise,  by  night,  he  begged  she  would 
invoke  the  spirit  of  Samuel,  who  had  died  shortly  before.  Con- 
jurations and  mutterings  followed,  to  bring  some  apparent  phantom 
before  him  whom  she  might  pronounce  to  be  Samuel,  but  both  she 
and  Saul  were  appalled  by  the  result.  What  she  could  never,  herself, 
have  done,  was  divinely  vouchsafed.  An  apparition  suddenly  rose 
before  them,  which  Saul  and  the  woman  recognised  at  once,  by  its 
mantle,  as  Samuel.  But  it  came  with  no  words  of  comfort  or 
hope.' 

Pouring  out  of  Water. 

I  SAMUEL  vii.  6  :  *  And  they  gathered  together  to  Mizpah,  and  drew  water,  and 
poured  it  out  before  the  Lord,  and  fasted  on  that  day,  and  said  there,  We  have 
sinned  against  the  Lord.' 

Difficulty. — As  the  pouring  out  of  water  is  not  a  Mosaic  rite,  this 
must  be  regarded  as  an  unauthorised  and  superstitious  ceremony. 

Explanation. — The  act  has  greatly  puzzled  Bible  students,  and 
many  suggestions  in  connection  with  it  have  been  made.  The  one 
that  most  commends  itself  is  that  the  pouring  of  water  was  a 
symbolical  act,  very  well  understood  by  Eastern  people.  Writing  on 
the  customs  of  India,  Mr.  Roberts  tells  us,  that '  pouring  water  on  the 
ground  is  a  very  ancient  way  of  confirming  an  oath  in  India.'  There 
is  reason  to  suppose  that,  in  ancient  times,  almost  every  solemn  act 
was  accompanied  by  libations,  or  the  outpouring  of  some  fluid, 
generally  wine,  and  we  know  that  water  was  employed  in  the  earlier 
times  for  this  purpose.  There  may  possibly  be  some  reference  to 
the  compact  into  which  the  people  now  entered,  and  on  which 
Samuel  acted  on  their  behalf ;  and  the  idea  may  be  that  their  words 


28o      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

had  gone  forth  not  to  be  recalled.     Oaths  were  certainly,  under  some 
such  idea,  confirmed  anciently  by  libations.     Thus  Ulysses  says  of 

Phidon, 

' "  To  me  the  monarch  swore  in  his  own  hall, 
Pouring  libation." ' 

Mr.  Roberts  gives  the  following  anecdote  from  the  Hindu  my 
thology.  '  When  the  god  Vishnu,  in  the  disguise  of  a  dwarf,  requested 
the  giant  Maha  Ville  (Bali)  to  grant  him  one  step  of  his  kingdom, 
the  favour  was  conceded,  and  confirmed  by  Maha  Ville  pouring  out 
water  before  the  dwarf.  In  that  ancient  work,  the  Scanda  Purana, 
where  the  account  is  given  of  the  marriage  of  the  god  Siva  with 
Paravati,  it  is  said  of  the  father,  He  placed  the  hand  of  the  goddess 
Paravati,  genetrix  of  the  world,  in  the  hand  of  Parama  Easuran  (Siva), 
and,  pouring  out  the  water,  said,  "  I  give  her  to  thee  with  all  my 
heart."  This,  therefore,  was  done  in  confirmation  of  the  com- 
pact. 

Canon  Spence  makes  a  suggestion  which  would  be  valuable  if  so 
simple  an  explanation  as  that  given  above  were  not  at  command. 
He  says  :  '  What  more  likely  than  that  the  prophet-statesman — who  in 
that  solemn  juncture  represented  priest  and  judge  and  seer  to  Israel 
— devised  on  that  momentous  day  new  symbolic  rites,  signifying 
Israel's  new  dedication  to  the  Eternal  for  the  future,  Israel's  repent- 
ance for  the  sad  past  ?  The  solemn  pouring  out  of  water  before  the 
Lord  symbolized,  to  a  people  trained  so  carefully  to  watch  the 
meaning  and  signification  of  symbols  and  imagery,  the  heart  and 
whole  inner  life  poured  out  before  the  Lord ;  the  fasting  represented 
the  repentant,  humble  sinner  bowed  down  in  grief  before  the  one  true 
God' 

Connected  with  a  somewhat  similar  reference  in  2  Sam.  xiv.  14. 
to  '  water  spilt  on  the  ground,'  Gadsby  relates  that,  '  passing  by  one 
house,  I  heard  wailings,  and  I  narrowly  escaped  being  drenched  with 
water.  My  guide  said  a  Jew  was  dead.  I  thought  nothing  of  the 
circumstance  until  I  read,  a  few  days  ago,  in  Jowett's  "  Christian 
Researches,"  that  the  Jews  throw  out  of  the  window  all  the  water  that 
is  in  a  house  in  which  any  person  has  died,  believing  that  the  soul 
had  cleansed  itself  therein.  The  Armenians  pour  a  glass  of  water  on 
the  head  of  a  corpse  when  it  is  put  into  the  grave.1 


ROYAL  BATHING  IN  THE  NILE.  281 


Royal  Bathing  in  the  Nile. 

EXODUS  it.  5  :  '  And  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  came  down  to  bathe  at  the  river ; 
and  her  maidens  walked  along  by  the  river  side'  (Rev.  Ver.} 

Question. — Do  the  Egyptian  records  give  any  illustrations  of  the 
practice  that  is  here  indicated,  or  was  this  a  custom  of  this  particular 
princess  ? 

Answer. — No  very  full  or  accurate  information  on  this  subject 
seems  to  be  at  command,  and  indeed  the  matter  is  one  concerning 
private  and  personal  habits  of  which  details  are  not  likely  to  have 
been  preserved.  We  can  quite  understand  that  in  such  a  hot  country 
as  Egypt  opportunities  for  bathing  would  be  eagerly  sought :  but  the 
privacy  which  Eastern  women  so  anxiously  preserved,  makes  it  very 
unlikely  that  the  open  bathing  of  the  Egyptian  women  in  the  river 
Nile  was  ever  an  established  custom. 

In  two  directions  explanations  of  this  incident  have  been  sought. 
Some  think  that  this  princess  was  a  childless  wife,  and  as  this  condi- 
tion is  regarded  as  extremely  distressing  by  all  Eastern  women,  we 
must  assume  that  she  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  get  her  disability 
removed.  A  superstitious  sentiment  prevailed  respecting  the  Nile, 
the  waters  of  which  were  thought  to  be  health-restoring  and  fructifying. 
The  bathing  of  the  princess,  therefore,  bore  special  relation  to  her 
condition,  and  the  state  of  her  mind  and  feelings  made  her  so  readily 
affected  by  the  sight  of  the  beautiful  babe  in  the  little  ark.  From 
this  very  reasonable  point  of  view  we  may  regard  the  bathing  as 
unusual  and  temporary,  and  the  attendance  of  the  maidens,  who  are 
said  to  have  '  walked  along  the  river-side, '•  secured  for  the  princess  all 
necessary  privacy. 

Supporting  this  view,  the  Speakers  Commentary  says  :  '  The  Nile 
was  worshipped  as  an  emanation  of  Osiris,  and  a  peculiar  power  of 
imparting  life  and  fertility  was  attributed  to  its  waters,  a  superstition 
still  prevalent  in  the  country.' 

The  other  explanation  of  the  incident  is  that  the  Nile,  or  one  of 
its  tributaries,  flowed  through,  or  by,  the  grounds  of  Pharaoh's  palace, 
and  that  a  portion  was  marked  off  for  the  bathing  purposes  of  the 
court  ladies.  All  needful  privacy  was  thus  secured,  and  we  may 
assume  that  the  princess  was  but  following  her  daily  custom.  The 
difficulty  of  this  explanation  is,  that  the  mother  of  Moses  would  not 
have  access  to  the  palace  grounds.  It  is  quite  possible,  however,  that 
she  placed  the  child  where  the  current  would  be  sure  to  carry  the  ark 
down  among  the  reeds  which  screened  the  princess's  bathing  place. 


282      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Off  the  main  stream  of  the  Nile,  the  current  would  run  very  slowly, 
and  the  ark  would  be  in  no  great  peril. 

There  is  a  suggestion  made  by  Dr.  C.  Geikie  which  supports  the 
view  we  prefer,  viz.,  that  this  was  an  occasional  bathing,  with  a  dis- 
tinctly superstitious  aim.  He  says  that  Rameses  was  at  this  time  in 
residence  at  his  northern  capital,  Tanis.  The  '  daughter  of  Pharaoh ' 
must  have  been  his  sister  •  and  it  seems  that  he  was  married  to  her  : 
and  a  marriage  of  brother  and  sister  was  thought  in  Egypt,  as  in 
ancient  Persia,  the  best  possible  for  a  prince,  to  guarantee  the  purity 
of  the  Divine  blood  of  the  royal  house.  But  such  unnatural  marriages 
are  often  unfruitful :  and  the  force  of  the  Scripture  narrative  almost 
wholly  depends  on  the  fact  of  the  childlessness  of  this  princess.  The 
name  given  to  her  by  Josephus,  Thermouthis,  *  Beloved  by  the 
goddess  Mut,'  is  found  as  that  of  one  of  the  wives  of  Rameses. 

Removing  Bodies  from  Trees  at  Nightfall. 

JOSHUA  x.  26,  27  :  '  And  afterward  Joshua  smote  them,  and  put  them  to  death, 
and  hanged  them  on  five  trees  :  and  they  were  hanging  upon  the  trees  until  the 
evening.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  going  down  of  the  sun,  that  Joshua  com- 
manded, and  they  took  them  down  off  the  trees,  and  cast  them  into  the  cave 
wherein  they  had  hidden  themselves,  and  laid  great  stones  on  the  mouth  of  the 
cave,  unto  this  very  day '  (Rev.  Ver. ) 

Question. —  Was  it  for  merciful  or  for  sanitary  reasons  that  the 
bodies  were  not  allowed  to  remain  exposed  through  the  night  ? 

Answer. — The  hanging  mentioned  in  Scripture  is  what  we  should 
understand  by  'gibbeting,'  or  the  public  exposure  of  the  bodies  of 
executed  persons.  Death  by  the  breaking  of  the  neck  through  a 
sudden  drop  from  a  scaffold,  with  a  rope  round  the  neck,  is  not 
referred  to  in  Scripture.  The  condemned  person  was  killed  in  some 
other  way,  and  then,  as  a  public  declaration  and  warning,  the  body 
was  hung  up  in  the  sight  of  the  people. 

There  was  a  very  strong  sentiment  established  in  the  East  against 
allowing  dead  bodies  to  remain  long  unburied.  Loyalty  to  the 
memory  of  the  dead  found  expression  in  speedy  efforts  for  their 
interment ;  and  no  greater  indignity  could  be  put  on  a  family  than 
to  refuse  burial,  or  delay  burial,  in  the  case  of  any  deceased  member. 
This  is  illustrated,  on  its  higher  religious  side,  in  the  familiar  classical 
drama  of  '  Antigone/ 

The  importance  of  the  sentiment  is  at  once  recognised  when  we 
remember  that  all  who  came  in  contact  with  a  dead  person  were 
regarded  as  ceremonially  unclean.  They  would  be  anxious  to  secure 
restoration  to  ceremonial  privileges  as  speedily  as  possible.  Dead 


REMOVING  BODIES  FROM  TREES.  283 

bodies,  in  hot  countries,  begin  at  once  to  corrupt,  and,  unless  at 
once  removed,  seriously  imperil  the  health  of  the  household  in  which 
they  remain.  And  if  left  unprotected  in  the  open  air,  the  body 
would  soon  be  devoured  by  carrion  beasts  and  birds,  a  mode  of  dis- 
posing of  it  that  has  always  been  regarded  as  extremely  humiliating 
and  painful.  An  African  traveller  tells  of  the  death  of  one  of  his 
party.  The  body  was  simply  dragged  away  a  hundred  yards  in  front 
of  the  tent,  carrion  birds  in  large  numbers  pounced  upon  it,  and 
within  half  an  hour  the  flesh  was  gone,  and  nothing  but  clean  whitened 
bones  were  left. 

As  a  public  triumph  over  these  five  kings,  Joshua  had  them  gibbeted, 
but  there  was  no  intention  of  offering  insult,  and  Joshua  met  the 
common  sentiment,  mercifully  arranging  for  a  speedy  interment,  and 
securing  the  bodies  from  being  torn  of  beast  or  bird.  During  the 
day  the  gibbets  were  watched,  and  carrion  creatures  driven  off.  But 
no  protection  could  be  given  during  the  night ;  and,  if  left  all  the 
night,  the  condition  of  the  bodies  in  the  morning  would  be  extremely 
repulsive  ;  so  Joshua  saved  everybody's  feelings  by  arranging  for  the 
burial  ere  night  fell. 

Joshua  only  carried  out  the  merciful  requirements  of  the  Mosaic 
law,  as  found  in  Deut.  xxi.  22,  23. 

Winer  tells  us  that  the  hanging  of  a  living  man  is  a  Persian  punish- 
ment Under  the  Herods  this  mode  of  execution  occurs  among  the 
Jews  also,  as  well  as  in  Egypt  during  the  Roman  age. 


Jezebel's  Scheme  for  the  Destruction  of  Naboth. 

I  KINGS  xxi.  9,  IO  :  *  And  she  wrote  in  the  letters,  saying,  Proclaim  a  fast,  and 
set  Naboth  on  high  among  the  people  :  and  set  two  men,  sons  of  Belial,  before 
him,  to  bear  witness  against  him,  saying,  Thou  didst  blaspheme  God  and  the 
king.  And  then  carry  him  out,  and  stone  him,  that  he  may  die.' 

Difficulty. — -Jezebel  evidently  made  a  bad  use  of  some  recognised 
legal form ,  and  this  was  a  judicial  murder  ;  but  none  of  our  legal  forms 
help  us  to  understand  precisely  what  this  was. 

Explanation. — Our  laws  concerning  *  blasphemy '  greatly  need 
to  be  reformed,  but  they  preserve  the  ordinary  judicial  course,  and 
do  not  yield  the  matters  of  conviction  and  execution  to  the  mere 
excitement  of  the  people.  In  Israel  this  one  crime  was  dealt  with 
by  a  sort  of  '  Lynch  law ';  the  people  at  once  vindicated  the  outraged 
honour.of  Jehovah,  or  of  the  king ;  as  soon  as  the  accusation  was  in 
any  sense  regarded  as  proved,  the  blasphemer  was  borne,  in  sudden 
tumult,  outside  the  gates,  and  stoned  to  death.  This  crime,  there- 


284     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

fore,  and  this  established  custom,  precisely  suited  the  vile  and  shameful 
purpose  of  the  unscrupulous  Jezebel.  No  delay  would  occur  ;  no 
death-warrant  was  required;  no  appeal  was  possible:  make  Naboth 
out  to  be  a  blasphemer,  and  the  popular  voice  would  at  once  cleai 
him  out  of  the  way.  This  much  may  be  said  for  the  elders  of  Jezreel, 
that  they  may  have  supposed  Jezebel  had  some  good  reason  for 
making  such  an  accusation,  but  could  not  secure  precise  evidence, 
and  therefore  the  degraded  Eastern  custom  of  paying  witnesses  to 
swear  falsely  must  be  resorted  to.  Nothing,  however,  can  relieve 
them  from  the  terrible  charge  of  playing  against  their  consciences 
into  the  hands  of  a  wicked  woman. 

The  scheme  was  somewhat  as  follows  :  Jezebel  intimated  that  a 
dreadful  curse  was  hanging  over  Jezreel,  because  there  was  some 
great  criminal  in  it,  some  great  iniquity  remained  unavenged.  A 
town's  meeting  was  to  be  called  to  consider  what  could  be  done  to 
avert  the  evil.  At  the  meeting  the  elders  were  to  take  care  that 
Naboth  occupied  a  prominent  position,  well  in  sight  of  everyone. 
Suddenly  an  accusation  was  to  be  made  against  Naboth  ;  he  was  to 
be  singled  out  as  the  guilty  party,  a  tumult  was  to  be  raised,  two  men 
were  to  be  brought  forward  as  witnesses  of  his  blasphemy,  and  then 
the  people  were  to  be  left  to  work  their  will  on  him.  It  was,  in  a 
sense,  a  legal  scheme,  but  it  was  of  quite  an  exceptional  character — a 
combination  of  the  legal  and  the  tumultuous.  By  accusing  Naboth 
of  the  crime  which  we  should  call  treason,  Jezebel,  according  to 
custom,  secured  the  reversion  of  his  landed  property  to  the  king  upon 
his  death. 

Some  illustration  of  this  case  may  be  found  in  that  of  the  martyr 
Stephen. 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  succinctly  narrates  Jezebel's  scheme.  *  If  Ahab  really 
wanted  the  vineyard,  she  would  get  it  for  him.  Writing  a  letter  in 
his  name,  and  duly  authenticated  by  the  royal  seal,  to  the  elders  and 
chief  men  of  Samaria  (there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether 
the  trial  took  place  at  Jezreel  or  at  Samaria),  she  commanded  them 
to  proclaim  a  fast,  as  at  the  occurrence  of  some  great  public  calamity. 
High  treason  had  been  committed,  and  the  wrath  of  the  gods  must 
be  deprecated.  Naboth  was  to  be  put  at  the  head  of  the  assembly, 
and  when  thus  brought  into  prominent  notice  was  to  be  accused  as 
the  criminal,  by  hired  false  witnesses,  so  common  in  all  ages  in  the 
East.  It  was  to  be  asserted  that  he  had  cursed  God  and  the  king. 
His  only  offence,  of  course,  had  been  keeping  his  own  property  when 
Ahab  wished  him  to  sell  it.  Largely  dependent  on  the  court,  and 
daunted  by  the  fierce  energy  and  unscrupulousness  of  Jezebel,  the 


TEAR-BOTTLES.  285 

elders  had  not  spirit  to  resist,  and  carried  out  her  murderous  plan. 
Naboth,  having  been  charged  with  the  crime,  was  at  once  condemned, 
and  forthwith  hurried  outside  the  town  walls  by  night  and  stoned  to 
death,  his  sons  also  sharing  his  fate  (2  Kings  ix.  26) ;  for  they,  too, 
must  be  destroyed  to  secure  the  vineyard.  To  add  iniquity  to  the 
murders,  the  mangled  bodies  were  left  unburied,  the  greatest  insult 
that  could  be  paid  to  the  dead.' 

Tear-Bottles. 

PSALM  Ivi.  8  :  '  Thou  tellest  my  wanderings  :  put  Thou  my  tears  into  Thy  bottle  ; 
are  they  not  in  Thy  Book  ?' 

Question. — Is  this  poetical  figure  based  upon  any  known  Eastern 
custom,  or  is  it  merely  a  poetical  license  ? 

Answer. — There  is  abundant  proof  that  it  was  a  familiar  and 
even  honoured  custom  thus  to  collect  the  tears  of  mourners.  And 
it  is  not  so  surprising  that  this  should  be  done  when  we  call  to  mind 
that  Eastern  people  are  much  more  demonstrative  than  Westerns, 
and  are  accustomed  to  weep  with  a  freedom  which  to  us  seems  very 
surprising. 

The  Romans  used  to  collect  the  tears  of  sorrowing  friends  who 
wept  for  the  dead,  and  put  them  in  sepulchral  urns  of  earth  or 
glass. 

Morier  tells  of  a  singular  practice  and  sentiment  in  Persia.  '  In 
some  of  their  mournful  assemblies  it  is  the  custom  for  a  priest  to  go 
about  to  each  person  at  the  height  of  his  grief  with  a  piece  of  cotton 
in  his  hand,  with  which  he  carefully  collects  the  falling  tears,  and 
which  he  then  squeezes  into  a  bottle,  preserving  them  with  the  greatest 
caution.  Some  Persians  believe  that  in  the  agony  of  death,  when  all 
medicines  have  failed,  a  drop  of  tears  so  collected,  put  into  the  mouth 
of  a  dying  man,  has  been  known  to  revive  him,  and  it  is  for  such  use 
they  are  collected.' 

Gadsby  says  :  '  Most  of  the  Easterns  shed  tears  much  more  copi- 
ously than  the  people  of  Europe.  The  Psalmist  said  rivers  of  waters 
ran  down  his  eyes,  and  though  the  language  is  beautifully  figurative, 
I  have  no  doubt  it  was  also  literally  true.  I  have  myself  seen  Arabs 
shed  tears  like  streams.  The  custom  in  old  times,  in  some  parts, 
was,  when  a  person  was  ill  or  in  great  distress,  for  his  friends  to  go 
to  see  him,  and  take  with  them  a  tear-bottle.  Then,  as  the  tears 
rolled  down  the  cheeks  of  the  sufferer,  they  were  caught  in  these 
bottles,  sealed  up,  and  preserved  as  a  memorial  of  the  event.  There 
are  several  of  these  bottles  in  the  British  Museum.  Some  of  them 


286      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

consist  of  two  bottles  joined  together,  so  as  to  reach  both  eyes  at 
once  ;  and  that  no  tears  should  be  wasted  they  were  made  to  fit  just 
under  the  eyes.' 

The  Speakers  Commentary  regards  the  sentence  as  a  'bold  but 
expressive  metaphor.  As  the  traveller  carefully  preserves  water,  milk, 
or  wine  in  leather  bottles  or  bladders  for  a  journey,  so  David  trusts 
that  God  keeps  in  memory  every  tear  which  he  sheds.  They  are 
precious  as  memorials  of  many  a  sorrowful  pleading,  many  a  prayer 
offered  with  streaming  eyes.' 

Roberts  says  that  a  Hindoo  in  distress,  as  he  weeps,  will  say,  '  Ah ! 
Lord,  take  care  of  these  tears;  let  them  not  run  in  vain.'  'Alas  1  my 
husband,  why  beat  me  ?  my  tears  are  known  to  God.' 

The  Foxes  and  the  Firebrands. 

JUDGES  xv.  4,  5  :  '  And  Samson  went  and  caught  three  hundred  foxes,  and  took 
firebrands,  and  turned  tail  to  tail,  and  put  a  firebrand  in  the  midst  between  every 
two  tails.  And  when  he  had  set  the  brands  on  fire,  he  let  them  go  into  the 
standing  corn  of  the  Philistines,  and  burnt  up  both  the  shocks,  and  the  standing 
corn,  and  also  the  oliveyards.' 

Difficulties. — One  man  surely  could  not  catch  and  keep  so  many  as 
three  hundred  fierce  wild  animals.  And  Samson's  act  seems  to  be  a 
malicious  practical  joke,  doing  extensive  injury  for  no  good  moral  ends. 

Explanation. — It  appears  that  the  Hebrew  word  Shualim  is 
used  for  both  foxes  and  jackals.  The  fox  prowls  about  alone ;  the 
jackals  hunt  in  herds.  Whichever  animal  is  referred  to,  Samson 
must  have  set  traps  for  them,  and  as  it  would  be  necessary  to  do  his 
malicious  act  promptly,  it  is  more  reasonable  to  assume  that,  in  some 
way,  he  entangled  a  whole  herd  of  jackals.  How  he  controlled  the 
creatures  while  he  tied  the  firebrand  to  their  tails  is  quite  beyond 
explanation.  His  object  in  getting  so  many  was  to  scatter  the  fire 
widely  abroad  by  the  frightened  rushing  of  the  beasts,  and  to  ensure 
that  some  at  least  of  the  firebrands  should  keep  alight.  By  tying 
two  tails  together  he  made  the  creatures  pull  against  each  other,  this 
way  and  that,  and  kept  them  from  rushing  right  away. 

Samson  did  but  follow  one  of  the  bad  and  malicious  customs  of 
the  East.  To  burn  the  crops  of  an  Arab  is  to  this  day  the  deadliest 
of  all  injuries.  An  example  of  the  wicked  practice  may  be  found  in 
2  Sam.  xiv.  30.  Canon  Farrar  says  :  '  It  is  in  entire  accordance  with 
the  custom  of  the  East,  and  it  finds  curious  confirmation  from  the 
story  in  Ovid's  Fasti,  that  every  year,  at  the  Cerealia  torches  were 
tied  to  the  tails  of  foxes,  and  they  were  let  loose  in  the  Roman  circus 
to  commemorate  the  incident  that  on  one  occasion  a  young  man  at 


THE  .FOXES  AND  THE  FIREBRANDS.          28} 

Carseoli,  to  punish  a  fox  for  depredations  on  his  hen-coops,  had 
wrapped  it  up  in  straw,  and  set  it  on  fire,  and  that  the  creature  had 
escaped  into  the  cornfields,  and  burnt  down  the  standing  crops.' 

Kitto  says :  '  Samson  caught,  probably  by  the  help  of  others,  no 
fewer  than  three  hundred  foxes — animals  which  to  this  day  abound 
in  the  same  region.  These,  at  the  time  he  had  chosen,  he  tied  tail 
to  tail,  fixing  a  slow  firebrand,  likely  to  be  kindled  into  flame  by  the 
air  in  rapid  motion,  between  each  pair  of  tails.  Being  then  let  loose, 
the  alarmed  animals  naturally  sought  shelter  among  the  standing  corn, 
and  soon  set  it  in  a  blaze  in  every  direction.' 

Tristram  thinks  the  brands  were  attached  at  some  distance  from 
the  tails  of  the  animals  ;  and  jackals,  being  accustomed  to  run  together, 
would  not,  unless  very  tightly  fastened,  pull  in  opposite  directions,  as 
foxes  or  dogs  would. 

Van  Lennep  has  a  good  note.  *  The  plan  of  tying  the  tails  of  two 
jackals  together  was  certainly  a  most  effectual  means  of  attaining  the 
object,  as  anyone  will  testify  who  has  ever  seen  the  experiment  tried. 
A  single  animal  carrying  a  firebrand  would  soon  extinguish  it,  while 
two  would  not  only  be  impeded  in  their  progress,  but  would  find  no 
hole  sufficiently  large  to  admit  them  both  at  once,  and  so  would  con- 
tinue rushing  wildly  through  the  land,  setting  fire  to  the  sheaves  of 
wheat,  and  also  to  that  still  standing,  together  with  the  vineyards 
and  olives.  The  Philistines,  moreover,  would  find  it  impossible  to 
seize  the  authors  of  this  terrible  mischief.  These  firebrands  were 
doubtless  pieces  of  the  pitch-pine  of  the  country,  which,  once  lighted, 
are  put  out  with  difficulty.' 

On  the  second  difficulty  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  firmly  express 
our  view  that  no  adequate  excuse  can  be  offered  for  this  wanton  and 
malicious  act.  'The  adoption  of  these  rough,  coarse,  and  cruel 
expedients  must  be  as  little  judged  by  a  later  and  better  standard  as 
his  thirst  for  the  revenge  of  personal  wrongs.' 

Samson's  character,  conduct,  and  mission  seem  to  us  wholly  beyond 
explanation,  unless  we  can  accept  the  view  so  eloquently  presented 
by  Dean  Stanley,  following  Ewald.  The  subject  is  so  interesting 
and  important  that  we  give  the  passages  from  both  these  great 
writers  : — 

'  Conjoined  with  the  immense  power  given  by  the  faith  that  he  was 
God's  own,  Samson  possessed  within  himself  a  second  gift,  which  it 
was  not  possible  for  others,  or  even  for  himself  personally,  to  call 
forth  at  will,  which  might  indeed  be  latent  at  that  very  time  in  the 
whole  people,  but  displayed  itself  in  him  with  a  peculiar  creative 
force ;  and  it  is  only  the  combination  of  this  with  the  former  very 


288      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

different  power  that  gave  to  his  career  its  distinctive  splendour.  It  is 
not  (as  is  said  of  Hannibal)  a  merely  hereditary  hate  without  scruple 
and  without  affection,  that  urges  him  against  the  enemies  of  his 
people ;  on  the  other  hand,  he  overflows  with  inexhaustible  joyous- 
ness  in  word  and  deed,  lightheartedness  under  the  heaviest  disasters, 
and  sportive  wit  that  accompanies  him  even  to  the  moment  of  his 
self-chosen  tragic  end.  In  a  love  not  easily  repulsed,  he  feels  himself 
drawn  even  to  the  oppressors  of  his  people,  and  advances  frankly  to 
meet  them.  And  when,  in  his  intercourse  with  them,  the  wrathful 
Deity  within  suddenly  urges  him  to  show  himself  the  inviolable  con- 
secrated servant  of  Jahveh,  and  to  let  the  insolent  "  uncircumcised  " 
feel  the  irresistible  might  of  his  arm,  even  this  he  takes  almost  as  a 
jest,  as  something  forced  upon  him  against  his  will,  and  the  fruit  of  a 
love  misunderstood  and  scorned  His  activity  against  the  foe  is  thus 
only  called  forth  casually  and  without  premeditation ;  it  is  rather  a 
sort  of  teasing,  a  reiterated  mark  of  mortifying  humiliation  ;  more  a 
sign  of  what  his  strength  could  do  in  need  and  in  earnest  than  of 
what  it  does.  But  in  fact  this  seeming  half-heartedness  of  his  nature 
not  only  affords  testimony  to  the  disposition  of  his  nation,  at  that 
time  scarcely  capable  of  hatred,  but  in  default  of  something  better, 
was  really  the  best  for  those  unhappy  times.  For  if  a  nation,  in  the 
main  well  disposed  and  civilized,  has  long  to  endure  such  grievous 
wrong  from  a  haughty  foe,  it  is  a  great  gain  if  it  loses  not  its  buoyant 
mood,  but  while  nothing  better  is  possible,  prepares  itself  for  better 
times,  at  least  by  the  lighter  exercises  of  wit  and  playful  fancy,  or  by 
occasional  dashing  strokes,  and  sometimes  by  the  successful  parry  of 
attack  and  unexpected  flashes,  bursting  out  here  and  there,  of  sup- 
pressed military  ardour.  It  is  only  by  realizing  vividly  the  whole 
weight  of  long-continued  foreign  rule  which  then  pressed  upon  the 
people  that  we  can  understand  the  full  value  in  such  times,  of  those 
inalienable  weapons,  playful  wit  and  jest ;  and  again,  in  the  proper 
place,  of  daring  revolt  against  local  injustice,  or  the  heroism  of  indi- 
vidual self-sacrifice.  We  feel  that  a  nation  which  even  under  mis- 
fortune overflowed  with  such  health  and  vivacity,  might  soon  again 
pass  from  these,  preparatory  sports  and  skirmishes  to  contests  of  a 
happier  character.' — Ewald. 

'Samson's  name,  which  Josephus  interprets  in  the  sense  of 
"  strong,"  was  still  more  characteristic.  He  was  "  the  Sunny,"  the 
bright  and  beaming,  though  wayward,  likeness  of  the  great  luminary 
which  the  Hebrews  delighted  to  compare  to  a  "  giant  rejoicing  to  run 
his  course,  a  bridegroom  coming  forth  out  of  his  chamber."  Nothing 
can  disturb  his  radiant  good-humour.  His  most  valiant,  his  most 


MARRIAGE  DOWRIES.  289 

cruel  actions,  are  done  with  a  smile  on  his  face  and  a  jest  in  his 
mouth.  It  relieves  his  character  from  the  sternness  of  Phoenician 
fanaticism.  As  a  peal  of  hearty  laughter  breaks  in  upon  the  des- 
.pondency  of  individual  sorrow,  so  the  joviality  of  Samson  becomes  a 
pledge  of  the  revival  of  the  greatness  of  his  nation.  It  is  brought  out 
in  the  strongest  contrast  with  the  brute  coarseness  and  stupidity  of 
his  Philistine  enemies,  here,  as  throughout  the  Sacred  History,  the 
butt  of  Israelitish  wit  and  Israelitish  craft.' — Stanley. 

Marriage  Dowries. 

I  SAMUEL  xviii.  21-27  :  *  David  said,  Seemeth  it  to  you  a  light  thing  to  be  a 

king's  son-in-law,  seeing  that  I  am  a  poor  man,  and  lightly  esteemed? 

And  Saul  said,  Thus  shall  ye  say  to  David,  The  king  desireth  not  any  dowry.' 

Question. —  What  Eastern  custom  can  be  referred  to  here  ?  In 
Western  lands  the  marriage  dowry  is  associated  only  with  the  bride. 

Answer. — In  many  parts  of  the  East  both  the  parties  in  a  treaty 
of  marriage  are  expected  to  provide  dowries.  But  this  seems  to  have 
been  a  relic  of  the  older  notion  that  a  bride  was  to  be  purchased  from 
her  relatives. 

Kitto  very  skilfully  explains  the  transaction  brought  before  us  in 
these  verses.  '  We  all  know  that  in  the  East  the  husband  is  expected 
in  some  sort  to  purchase  his  bride,  by  a  payment  to  her  father.  One 
who  cannot  pay  this  in  money  may  do  it  by  his  services,  as  Jacob 
did,  or  by  some  exploit  fixed  by  the  father,  as  Othniel  did.  David 
had  a  clear  claim  to  one  of  Saul's  daughters ;  but  this,  as  a  matter  of 
right,  he  did  not  urge  ;  and  his  family  was  not  in  such  circumstances 
as  to  afford  such  "  gift  and  dowry  "  as  a  king  had  a  right  to  expect 
when  he  bestowed  a  daughter.  To  meet  this  difficulty,  the  king  was 
graciously  content  to  accept  some  great  exploit  against  the  public 
enemy  as  a  sufficient  equivalent  for  his  daughter's  hand.  Thus 
understood,  what  Saul  required  was  not,  as  the  difference  of  manners 
has  led  many  to  suppose  it  to  be,  a  gratuitous  task,  the  real  object  of 
which  might  have  been  even  at  the  first  view,  very  obvious ;  but  it 
was  in  appearance  a  generous  and  considerate  mode  of  enabling  the 
son  of  Jesse  to  contract  this  match  on  somewhat  equal  terms,  by  the 
acceptance  of  a  service  that  he  could  render  in  lieu  of  payments 
beyond  his  power.  For  Saul  to  give  his  daughter  without  any  con- 
sideration, would  have  been  a  slur  upon  her,  and  to  accept  her  on 
such  terms  would  have  been,  according  to  Eastern  notions,  dishonour/ 
able  in  David.  It  was,  therefore,  not  without  the  appearance  of 
generosity  on  the  part  of  the  king  that  he  offered  to  accept  a  public 


29o      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

service  in  lieu  of  a  private  benefit ;  and  it  was  right  that  he  should 
make  that  service  bear  some  proportion,  in  hazard  and  difficulty,  to 
the  value  he  set  upon  his  daughter.' 

Dr.  Turner,  writing  on  Polynesian  customs,  says  :  '  David  objected 
to  the  proposal  of  being  Saul's  son-in-law  on  the  ground  of  poverty. 
A  Samoan  would  raise  the  same  objection  in  the  case  of  inequality 
in  rank,  owing  to  the  difficulty  he  might  have  in  getting  up  a  dowry 
equal  to  that  of  the  woman.  The  husband  has  to  provide  a  dowry 
as  well  as  the  wife,  and  the  dowry  of  each  must  be  pretty  nearly  of 
^qual  value.' 

Van  Lennep  tells  us  that,  in  the  rural  districts,  among  the  village 
farmers  and  the  nomad  tribes,  whose  manners  have  been  least 
affected  by  the  influence  of  civilization,  the  marriage-contract  is 
•  avowedly  an  act  of  purchase,  the  parents  selling  the  daughter,  whom 
they  regard  as  their  property,  and  whose  acquiescence  is  secured  by 
a  few  additional  trifling  gifts  or  trinkets.  This  is  practised  by  all  the 
Circassian  tribes,  both  Muslim  and  pagan,  among  whom  the  father 
sells  his  daughter,  and  the  brother  his  sister,  to  the  highest  bidder.' 


The  Burnt-Offering  of  a  King's  Son. 

2  KINGS  iii.  27  :  *  Then  he  took  his  eldest  son  that  should  have  reigned  in  his 
stead,  and  offered  him  for  a  burnt-offering  upon  the  wall.  And  there  was  great 
•wrath  against  Israel :  and  they  departed  from  him,  and  returned  to  their  own 
land '  (Rev.  Ver.}. 

Difficulty. — This  offering  appears  to  have  effected  the  deliverance 
of  Moab  in  a  strange  way.  Was  the  indignation  excited  by  it  agai?ist 
Israel  reasonable  ? 

Explanation. — So  far  as  we  can  understand  the  narrative,  we 
see  that  Mesha,  King  of  Moab,  was  at  one  time  tributary  to  Ahab. 
Then  he  broke  away  from  his  engagements,  and  for  a  time  asserted 
and  maintained  his  independence.  Jehoram,  the  son  of  Ahab,  made 
a  league  with  Jehoshaphat  of  Judah,  and  with  the  King  of  Edom, 
and  the  three  united  in  an  expedition  for  the  recovery  and  subjection 
of  Moab.  They  carried  on  the  war  with  extreme  and  unreasonable 
violence,  driving  the  Moabites  to  such  extremities  as  to  excite  the 
intensest  feeling  against  them.  Mesha  was  beaten  in  battle,  and  as 
the  conquerors  advanced  into  his  country  they  covered  the  fields 
with  stones  to  render  them  barren,  and  filled  up  the  wells  to  render 
the  land  uninhabitable.  Mesha  subsequently,  in  utter  extremity, 
took  refuge  in  a  stronghold,  probably  Kir-haraseth,  and  there  offered 
his  son  as  a  burnt-offering  on  the  ramparts,  in  the  sight  of  the 


THE  BURNT-OFFERING  OF  A  KING'S  SON.     29  > 

besiegers.  The  Moabites  were  evidently  foaming  with  rage  and 
indignation  against  their  enemies  who  had  driven  them  to  such 
terrible  shifts. 

The  retirement  of  the  Israelites  when  this  son  was  sacrificed  was 
due  to  an  Eastern  superstitious  notion,  that  the  enemy  would  be 
haunted  and  cursed  by  the  ghost  of  a  person  sacrificed  under  such 
circumstances.  Nothing  but  a  superstitious  sentiment  could  have 
prevented  their  following  up  their  advantages.  Some,  however,  think 
that  the  fact  of  their  having  forced  Mesha  to  such  a  dreadful  deed, 
awakened  the  conscience  of  the  Israelites  to  the  wickedness  of  the 
way  in  which  they  had  carried  on  the  war,  and  made  them  fear  the 
anger  of  Jehovah. 

Burder  says  :  *  The  reason  why  the  King  of  Moab  offered  his  son 
on  the  wall  was  to  represent  to  the  attacking  armies  to  what  straits 
they  had  reduced  him.  He  did  not  merely  implore  assistance  from 
his  gods  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  son,  but  took  this  method  of  terrifying 
his  adversaries,  after  his  own  personal  valour  had  proved  ineffectual 
to  deliver  himself  and  his  country.  Caesar  says  of  the  Gauls,  that 
when  they  were  afflicted  with  grievous  diseases,  or  in  time  of  war  or 
great  danger,  they  either  offered  men  for  sacrifices  or  vowed  they 
would  offer  them.  For  they  imagined  God  would  not  be  appeased 
unless  the  life  of  a  man  were  rendered  for  the  life  of  a  man.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  says :  *  The  awful  tragedy,  indeed,  accomplished  its 
end,  but  by  a  means  Mesha  could  not  have  foreseen,  and  with  which 
Chemosh  had  nothing  to  do.  The  sight  filled  the  besieging  army 
with  horror.  Such  sacrifices,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Hebrews,  polluted 
a  land,  and  laid  it  under  a  curse  of  blood.  They  would  no  longer 
stay  in  it,  but  would  rather  give  up  all  they  had  won.  To  remain 
might  bring  on  them  the  wrath  which  must  speedily  break  forth  for  a 
deed  so  appalling.' 

The  superstitious  sentiment  referred  to  above  is  illustrated  by  an 
Indian  story,  related  by  Lord  Teignmouth.  There  were  two 
Brahmins,  named  Beechuk  and  Adher,  brothers,  who  had  a  quarrel 
with  a  man  named  Gowry.  The  emissaries  of  the  latter  stole  forty 
rupees,  the  property  of  the  two  brothers,  from  the  apartments  of 
their  women.  When  Beechuk  understood  what  had  happened,  he 
took  his  mother  to  the  bank  of  the  rivulet  which  ran  through  the 
village,  and  there  was  also  met  by  Adher,  his  brother.  This  was  in 
the  grey  of  the  morning,  and  they  called  aloud  to  the  people  of  the 
village  that  the  forty  rupees  must  be  returned.  No  answer  being 
given,  Beechuk  drew  his  scimitar,  and  deliberately  struck  off  his 
mother's  head.  This  was  done  that  the  mother's  spirit,  excited  by 

19—2 


292      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  beating  of  a  large  drum  during  forty  days,  might  ever  haunt, 
torment,  and  pursue  to  death  Gowry  and  his  associates.  The  last 
words  the  mother  uttered  were,  *  I  will  blast  Gowry  and  those  con- 
cerned with  him.' 


The  Foot  upon  the  Neck. 

JOSHUA  x.  24,  25:  'Joshua  called  for  the  men  of  Israel,  and  said  unto  the 
chiefs  of  the  men  of  war  which  went  with  him,  Come  near,  put  your  feet  upon  the 
necks  of  these  kings.  And  they  came  near,  and  put  their  feet  upon  the  necks  of 
them.' 

Question. —  Was  this  act  of  humiliation  a  special  device  of  Joshua!  s> 
or  was  it  based  on  some  familiar  ancient  custom  ? 

Answer. — The  act  is  not  one  which  accords  with  Western 
notions  of  offering  homage  to  kings,  but  Eastern  peoples  bow 
themselves  down,  with  their  faces  to  the  ground ;  and  to  lay  hold  of 
the  feet,  or  to  kiss  the  feet,  is  the  familiar  expression  of  humiliation, 
penitence,  and  desire  for  mercy.  When  a  suppliant  takes  such  an 
attitude,  it  is  a  very  simple  thing  for  the  person  of  whom  he  asks 
mercy  to  place  his  foot  upon  his  neck,  and  this  act  was  the  recognised 
sign  of  the  conquest,  humiliation,  and  subjection  of  the  persons  so 
treated.  It  may  be  compared  with  the  Western  custom  of  surrender- 
ing the  sword  as  an  acknowledgment  of  being  conquered. 

Some  variations  of  the  figure  will  be  found,  as  it  is  used  in  Gen.  xlix. 
8  •  2  Sam.  xxii.  41  ;  Isai.  xviii.  2,  7.  As  a  symbol  of  complete 
subjugation  it  is  found  in  Psalm  ex.  i ;  i  Cor.  xv.  25. 

The  practice  was  a  common  one  in  the  Byzantine  empire. 
Gibbon  says  :  '  We  are  told  that  Valerian  in  chains,  but  invested  with 
the  imperial  purple,  was  exposed  to  the  multitude,  a  constant 
spectacle  of  fallen  greatness;  and  that  whenever  the  Persian 
monarch  (Sapor)  mounted  on  horseback,  he  placed  his  foot  on  the 
neck  of  a  Roman  emperor,' 

Roberts^  illustrating  Eastern  customs  from  Hindoo  life,  says : 
*  This  in  the  East  is  a  favourite  way  of  triumphing  over  a  fallen  foe. 
In  the  history  of  the  battles  of  the  gods,  or  giants,  particular  mention 
is  made  of  the  closing  scene,  how  the  conquerors  went  and  trampled 
on  their  enemies.  When  people  are  disputing,  should  one  be  a 
little  pressed,  and  the  other  begin  to  triumph,  the  former  will  say, 
•'  I  will  tread  upon  thy  neck,  and  afterwards  beat  thee."  A  low  caste 
man  insulting  one  who  is  high,  is  sure  to  hear  some  one  say  to  the 
offended  individual,  "  Put  your  feet  on  his  neck." ' 

It  is  not  difficult  to  recognise  the  significance  of  the  figure.     The 


JE  WISH  RESISTANCE.  293 

sign  of  pride,  and  self-confidence,  and  triumphant  success  was  the 
stiff-neck.  Stiffening  the  neck  and  hardening  the  heart  are  closely 
associated,  see  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  13.  Men  are  said  to  harden  their 
neck,  so  that  they  might  not  hear  (Neh.  ix.  29).  Proud  ladies  walk 
with  stretched  forth  necks  (Isai.  iii.  16).  And  the  self-willed,  rebel- 
lious Israelites  are  a  *  stiff-necked  generation.'  Straightening  or 
stiffening  the  neck  is  the  characteristic  attitude  and  action  of  the 
self-reliant  man ;  and  therefore  the  most  effective  expression  of  the 
crushing  down  of  pride  is  this  placing  of  the  foot  upon  the  neck. 

Jewish  Resistance  upon  Ahasuerus's  Decree. 

ESTHER  ix.  5  :  '  And  the  Jews  smote  all  their  enemies  with  the  stroke  of  the 
sword,  and  with  slaughter  and  destruction,  and  did  what  they  would  unto  them 
that  hated  them. 

Difficulty.— Surely  such  a  liberty,  given  to  a  dependent  and  captive 
race,  must  have  put  in  grave  peril  the  national  order  and  government. 

Explanation. — It  is  not  possible  for  us  to  conceive  how  such 
an  order  or  permission  could  be  given  with  safety.  Society  would 
never  be  safe,  if  the  government  loosened  its  hand,  and  gave  liberty 
to  its  dependent  subjects,  its  slaves,  helots,  or  criminal  classes.  But 
it  is  well  for  us  to  distinguish  between  the  order,  as  given  from  the 
palace,  and  the  order,  as  translated  by  the  Jewish  people,  and  as 
actually  worked  out  under  force  of  circumstances.  The  order  was 
strictly  a  permission  to  the  Jews  to  defend  themselves,  '  to  stand  for 
their  lives,'  whenever  attempts  were  made  to  execute  the  decree 
which  Haman  had  secured.  But  this  involved  permission  to  organize 
for  defence.  It  excused  efforts  to  crush  attacks  which  were  being 
prepared  for,  before  they  were  made ;  and  this  could  hardly  be 
distinguished  from  attack.  It  was  indeed  a  ridiculous  order, 
necessitated  only  by  the  ridiculous  sentiment  that  the  '  laws  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians  could  not  be  changed.'  To  what  extent  the 
governors  of  the  provinces  concerned  restrained  the  Jews  we  are 
not  told,  but  the  result  was  such  a  slaughter  as  was  only  possible  in 
Eastern  lands.  We  can  only  compare  the  scene  with  the  rising  of 
the  Greek  helots  and  Roman  slaves. 

'  How  far  the  Jews  acted  according  to  the  strict  letter  of  the  edict, 
and  "  stood  for  their  lives "  only  when  attacked,  is  perhaps  to  be 
doubted.  They  had  on  their  side  all  the  executive  of  the  empire 
(ver.  3),  and  evidently,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  the  second  edict 
was  considered  virtually  to  repeal  the  first.  The  Jews,  therefore, 
being  in  favour  at  court,  and,  as  was  not  unnatural  after  their  alarm, 


294      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

being  now  full  of  indignation  and  vengeance,  were  probably  resolved 
to  use  their  opportunities  while  they  had  the  chance.  If  so,  who 
could  object,  so  long  as  they  did  nothing  against  the  authorities  ?  and 
they  were  on  their  side.  That  they  did  make  a  bloody  use  of 
their  opportunity  is  shown  clearly  by  verse  16.' — Ellicotfs  Com- 
mentary. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  makes  a  great  effort  to  relieve  the  condemna- 
tion which  we  at  once  pronounce  on  the  vindictive  spirit  and  ruth- 
less slaughter  of  these  Jews.  He  says  :  '  The  slaughter,  therefore, 
of  these  75,000,  shows  that  a  very  large  number  of  their  heathen 
enemies,  who  had  been  exasperated  and  stimulated  against  the  Jews 
by  the  decree  of  Haman,  issued  nearly  a  year  before,  had  prepared 
themselves  for  an  attack  upon  them;  and  that,  presuming  upon 
their  own  overwhelming  numbers  and  forces,  as  compared  with  the 
paucity  and  weakness  of  the  Jews,  they  assaulted  them  in  order  to 
destroy  and  despoil  them,  and  to  enrich  themselves  with  their 
property;  and  that  the  Jews  made  a  vigorous  resistance,  and,  by 
the  help  of  God,  routed  their  assailants  with  a  great  discomfiture. 
The  slaughter  was  not  a  consequence  of  a  vindictive  spirit  in  the 
Jews,  but  of  the  bitter  animosity  of  their  enemies ;  and  it  proves 
that  the  Jews  would  have  been  extinguished  (as  Haman's  decree 
intended  that  they  should  be),  if  God  had  not  interfered  to  rescue 
them  from  destruction.' 


Divining  by  the  Ephod. 

I  SAMUEL  xxiii.  9  :  'And  David  knew  that  Saul  devised  mischief  against  him  ; 
and  he  said  to  Abiathar  the  priest,  Bring  hither  the  ephod.'  {See  pages  60, 189.) 

Question. —  Was  divining  by  the  ephod  a  proper  and  recognised 
mode  of  inquiring  from  God? 

Answer. — This  incident  occurred  at  Keilah,  and  under  circum- 
stances which  quite  prevented  David  from  applying  at  the  Tabernacle 
for  counsel.  We  are  told,  in  verse  6,  that  from  the  slaughter  of  the 
priests  at  Nob,  Abiathar  succeeded  in  escaping,  and  in  his  escape  he 
secured  an  ephod.  To  be  of  any  service  as  an  oracle,  this  must  have 
been  the  ephod  specially  worn  by  the  high  priest.  It  is  significant 
that  Saul's  violence  at  Nob  deprived  him  of  the  possibility  of  in- 
quiring of  God  in  the  ordinary  method,  through  the  high  priest, 
and  Divine  Providence  gave  that  special  advantage  to  his  rival, 
David. 

It  seems  that  inquiries  of  God  might  be  made  in  two  ways — either 


DIVINING  BY  THE  EPHOD.  295 

through  the  prophets,  who  would  speak  in  words  the  Divine  answer 
that  was  given  to  them  ;  or  through  the  priests,  who  could  only  use 
the  medium  of  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  and  appear  not  to  have 
secured  more  than  some  sign  of  approval  or  disapproval  It  seems 
that  in  the  high  priestly  ephod,  or  shoulder-piece -,  '  were  set  twelve 
precious  stones,  one  for  each  of  the  twelve  tribes.  The  names  of  the 
tribes  were  engraved  on  these  gems,  the  Rabbis  tell  us,  along  with 
some  other  sacred  words.  On  important,  solemn  occasions — it  seems 
perfectly  certain  during  a  considerable  time — these  stones  were 
allowed,  by  the  providence  of  God,  who  worked  so  many  marvels  for 
His  people,  to  be  used  as  oracles.  Probably  the  use  of  the  sacred 
gems  was  restricted  to  the  high  priest,  who  could  only  call  out  the 
supernatural  power  at  the  bidding  of  the  king,  or  the  head  of  the 
State  for  the  time  being.' 

In  what  way  the  ephod  stones  gave  their  response  we  cannot 
certainly  know.  Some  think  there  was  a  peculiar  flashing  or  shining. 
Others  say  that,  as  each  gem  represented  a  tribe,  by  the  illumination 
of  certain  gems  a  word  could  readily  be  formed.  Josephus  says  the 
sardonyxes  were  bright  before  a  victory  or  when  a  sacrifice  was 
acceptable  ;  dark  when  any  disaster  was  impending. 

It  may,  however,  be  reasonably  urged  that  the  ephod  which 
Abiathar  secured  was  not  this  special  high  priestly  garment,  with  its 
sacred  fittings,  but  an  ordinary  priestly  ephod ;  and  that  the  Divine 
response  to  Abiathar,  when  clothed  in  this  ephod,  was  a  graciously 
exceptional  case.  The  possession  by  David  of  the  Urim  and 
Thummim  would  surely  have  been  for  Saul  a  fair  casus  belli. 

We  probably  need  freer  ideas  of  the  use  of  the  ephod,  and  some 
accurate  acquaintance  with  the  sentiments  that  prevailed  in  relation 
to  it.  Gideon  made  an  ephod  (Judges  viii.  27),  which  was  a  sleeve- 
less coat,  specially  worn  by  a  person  of  whom  an  oracle  was  sought. 
When  Micah  set  up  his  independent  worship,  we  find  that  an  ephod 
was  regarded  as  one  of  the  essential  things  (Judges  xvii.  5).  Samuel 
wore  an  ephod,  and  so  did  David  on  one  occasion.  Possibly  the  use 
of  this  particular  vestment  was  popularly  regarded  as  constituting  the 
wearer,  for  the  time  being,  a  sort  of  mediator  between  God  and 
man. 

The  Speakers  Commentary ',  with  some  firmness,  asserts  that  '  there 
is  not  here  a  vestige  of  the  Jewish  notion  that  the  answers  were  given 
by  the  shining  out  of  the  stones  in  the  breastplate  of  the  ephod. 
The  answers  were  evidently  given  by  the  Word  of  the  Lord  in  the 
mouth  of  Abiathar.' 


296      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Holding  the  Horns  of  the  Altar. 

I  KINGS  i.  50,  51  :  'And  Adonijah  feared  because  of  Solomon  ;  and  he  arose, 
and  went,  and  caught  hold  on  the  horns  of  the  altar.  And  it  was  told  Solomon, 
saying,  Behold  Adonijah  feareth  King  Solomon  :  for,  lo,  he  hath  laid  hold  on  the 
horns  of  the  altar,  saying,  Let  King  Solomon  swear  unto  me  to-day  that  he  will 
not  slay  his  servant  with  the  sword.' 

Question. —  Was  this  a  special  device  of  Adonijatfs>  or  does  it 
indicate  a  prevailing  custom  and  sentiment  • 

Answer. — Laying  hold  of  the  horns  of  the  altar  was  one  of  the 
recognised  modes  of  claiming  sanctuary,  or  protection  from  the  con- 
sequences of  misdeeds.  But  it  should  be  clearly  understood  that  in 
ancient  times  c  sanctuary '  could  be  no  protection  for  wilful  and  de- 
termined criminals.  It  only  shielded  those  who  had  done  some 
wrong  under  pressure  of  haste,  or  inadvertently,  or  by  accident.  The 
principle  of  all  '  sanctuaries '  is  illustrated  in  the  provision  of  the 
cities  of  refuge,  which  could  not  shield  wilful  murderers — only  those 
who  had  killed  their  neighbours  by  accident,  without  hating  them 
beforehand.  It  was  quite  a  degradation  of  the  idea  of  '  sanctuaries ' 
when,  in  the  middle  ages,  villains  and  criminals  were  shielded  from 
the  proper  punishment  of  their  crimes. 

The  altar  referred  to  is  probably  the  '  altar  of  burnt-offering  which 
had  been  erected  oia  Mount  Zion,  where  Abiathar,  one  of  his 
partisans,  presided  as  high  priest.  The  horns  or  projections  at  the 
four  corners  of  the  altar,  to  which  the  sacrifices  were  bound,  and 
which  were  tipped  with  the  blood  of  the  victim,  were  symbols  of 
•Trace  and  salvation  to  the  sinner.  Hence  the  altar  was  regarded  as 
a  sanctuary'  (Exod.  xxi.  13,  14).  *  Taking  sanctuary  at  the  altar  was 
no  part  of  the  law,  but  a  custom  prior  to  the  law,  and  common  to  the 
Jews  with  many  other  nations.' 

The  prevalence  of  the  idea  of  sanctuaries  may  be  illustrated  from 
Dr.  Turner's  work  on  '  Polynesia.'  *  In  Samoa,  the  manslayer,  or 
the  deliberate  murderer,  flies  to  the  house  of  the  chief  of  the  village, 
or  to  the  house  of  the  chief  of  another  village  to  whom  he  is  related 
by  the  father's  or  the  mother's  side.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  he  is 
perfectly  safe  if  he  only  remains  there.  In  such  instances  the  chief 
delights  in  the  opportunity  of  showing  his  importance.  In  Samoa,  a 
chief's  house  is  literally  his  fortification,  except  in  times  of  open 
rebellion  and  actual  war.' 

It  has  been  wisely  remarked  that  '  however  merciful  the  original 
institution  of  sanctuaries  might  be,  in  modern  times  it  was  much 
abused,  so  that  places  intended  to  protect  the  innocent  became  the 


SUPPOSED   VIRTUE  IN  ELISHA'S  STAFF.        297 

resort  and  refuge  of  the  guilty.  Many  examples  curiously  illustrative 
of  this  observation  might  be  adduced,  though  for  the  most  part  they 
are  only  to  be  found  recorded  in  the  scattered  pages  of  publications 
difficult  of  access  to  the  common  reader.  "  The  right  of  sanctuary," 
says  a  modern  writer  on  the  annals  and  antiquities  of  London,  "  was 
enjoyed  by  various  districts  and  buildings  in  London.  In  times 
when  every  man  went  armed — when  feuds  were  of  hourly  occurrence 
in  the  streets — when  the  age  had  not  yet  learned  the  true  superiority 
of  right  over  might,  and  when  private  revenge  too  often  usurped  the 
functions  of  justice,  it  was  essential  that  there  should  be  places 
whither  the  homicide  might  flee  and  find  refuge  and  protection  until 
the  violence  of  angry  passions  had  subsided,  and  there  was  a  chance 
of  a  fair  trial/ 

Supposed  Virtue  in  Elisha's  Staff. 

2  KINGS  iv.  31  :  '  And  Gehazi  passed  on  before  them,  and  laid  the  staff  upon 
the  face  of  the  child  ;  but  there  was  neither  voice  nor  hearing.  Wherefore  he 
returned  to  meet  him,  and  told  him,  saying,  The  child  is  not  awaked.' 

Difficulty. — Elisha's  act  in  sending  this  staff  was  calculated  to 
encourage  false  and  superstitious  notions. 

Explanation. — When  superstitious  notions  are  commonly  enter- 
tained, the  servant  of  God  may  often  effectively  correct  them  by 
acting  in  accordance  with  them,  and  so  showing  how  unworthy  and 
without  due  foundation  they  are.  It  is  said  that  necromancers  were 
accustomed  to  send  their  staff  or  rod  to  those  whom  they  would  re- 
store from  sickness  or  devil-possessions,  with  orders  to  the  messengers 
to  let  the  staff  come  in  contact  with  nothing  by  the  way  that  might 
dissipate  or  destroy  the  virtue  imparted  to  it.  It  is  suggested  that 
the  manifest  failure  of  Elisha's  staff  to  accomplish  anything  was  de- 
signed to  free  the  Shunamite,  and  the  people  of  Israel  at  large,  from 
the  superstitious  notion  of  supposing  a  miraculous  virtue  resided  in  any 
person  or  in  any  rod.  Loyal  prophets  of  Jehovah  had  always  to  guard 
against  the  disposition  of  the  people  to  trust  in  them,  and  rely  on 
their  endowments,  rather  than  in  God,  whose  messages  they  brought, 
and  whose  works  of  healing  and  grace  they  wrought.  This  Shuna- 
mite thought  Elisha  could  raise  her  son.  so  she  must  be  taught  the 
lesson  that  Elisha  could  not,  but  God  could. 

Keil  takes  this  view,  and  thinks  '  the  prophet  foresaw  the  failure  of 
his  experiment,  and  intended  by  it  to  teach  that  the  power  of  working 
miracles  was  not  magically  inherent  in  himself  or  in  his  staff,  as  they 
might  imagine,  but  only  in  Jehovah,  who  granted  the  temporary  use 


298      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

of  that  power  to  faith  and  prayer.  In  other  words,  Elisha  was  seeking 
to  lift  the  minds  of  his  disciples  to  higher  and  more  spiritual  concep- 
tions of  the  prophetic  office.' 

Bdhr  thinks  '  that  Elisha  was  at  fault  in  supposing  he  could 
transfer  the  spirit  and  power  of  a  prophet  to  his  servant,  and  acted  in 
overhaste,  without  a  Divine  incentive.' 

It  is  curious  to  find  a  staff,  or  walking-stick  (the  word  used  does 
not  mean  'magician's  rod'),  the  characteristic  symbol  of  Elisha,  and 
not  the  mantle  which  fell  to  him  from  the  ascending  Elijah. 

Dr.  Turner,  in  his  account  of  Polynesian  customs,  gives  a  sugges- 
tive illustration  of  this  passage,  which  he  fell  in  with  during  a  visit  to 
the  New  Hebrides.  '  Among  some  stone  idols  and  other  relics  of 
heathenism  which  I  had  handed  to  me,  was  an  old  smooth  staff  made 
of  ironwood,  a  little  longer  and  thicker  than  an  ordinary  walking- 
stick.  It  had  been  kept  for  ages  in  the  family  of  one  of  the  disease- 
healing  craft,  was  considered  as  the  representative  of  the  god,  and 
was  taken  regularly  by  the  priest  when  he  was  sent  for  to  visit  a  case 
of  sickness.  The  eyes  of  the  poor  patient  brightened  up  at  the  sight 
of  the  stick.  All  that  the  priest  did  was  merely  to  sit  before  the  sick 
man,  and,  leaning  on  this  sacred  staff,  to  speechify  a  little,  and  tell 
him  there  was  no  further  fear,  and  that  he  might  expect  soon  to 
recover.' 

Kitto  thinks  Elisha  sent  his  staff  by  his  servant  with  the  expectation 
that  it  would  be  effectual  to  raise  from  the  dead  j  and  this  showed 
his  great  faith.  He  did  not  at  first  intend  to  go  to  Shunem,  and  for 
that  reason  sent  his  staff  to  supply  the  lack  of  his  own  presence.  If 
he  had  then  intended  to  go  himself,  there  would  have  been  no  need 
for  sending  his  staff  beforehand  ;  and  his  haste  to  do  so  might  afford 
an  opportunity  to  the  ungodly  of  throwing  disparagement  on  the 
miracle,  by  saying  that  he  did  this  because  he  apprehended  the  child 
would  be  '  too  dead,'  before  he  came  himself,  to  be  revived  at  all 

It  may,  however,  have  been  the  intention  of  Elisha,  in  sending  the 
staff,  to  arrest  the  swiftly  hurrying  corruption  of  summer-time  in  that 
hot  country. 

Lapping  and  Bowing. 

JUDGES  vii.  5  :  *  Everyone  that  lappeth  of  the  water  with  his  tongue,  as  a  dog 
lappeth,  him  shall  thou  set  by  himself ;  likewise  everyone  that  boweth  down  upon 
his  knees  to  drink.' 

Question. — How  could  this  mere  peculiarity  in  the  method  and 
habit  of  drinking  come  to  be  a  satisfactory  test  of  character  ? 

Answer. — It  is  important,  first,  to  see  what  particular  qualities 
were  necessary  in  the  men  who  were  to  take  part  in  the  proposed 


LAPPING  AND  BOWING.  299 

stratagem.  The  most  important  quality  was  self-restraint.  The  plan 
Gideon  had  been  led  to  form  could  only  be  carried  out  by  men  who 
would  do  precisely  as  they  were  told,  would  keep  silence,  make  no 
sign,  yet  be  thoroughly  on  the  alert,  and  would  act,  at  the  appointed 
moment,  with  promptitude  and  decision.  Such  men  only  as  could 
control  themselves  would  be  safe  to  trust  in  such  an  exciting  time, 
when  the  plan  might  be  wholly  spoiled  by  the  indiscretion  of  one 
man. 

Ewald  points  out  the  significance  of  the  test :  *  Those  only  are  the 
true  warriors  of  Jahveh,  who,  when  an  enjoyment  is  offered — as,  for 
instance,  refreshment  at  a  living  well — taste  it  only  in  passing,  and 
while  standing  on  the  alert ;  not  seeking  enjoyment,  and  crouching 
down  to  it  in  indolent  comfort,  but,  mindful  every  minute  of  the 
business  in  hand,  and  the  desired  victory,  only  lapping  the  water  like 
dogs  upon  their  way.' 

Stanley,  after  saying  that  the  '  cowards  had  been  removed  from  the 
army,'  adds  :  *  The  next  step  was  to  remove  the  rash.  At  the  brink 
of  the  spring,  those  who  rushed  headlong  down  to  quench  their 
thirst,  throwing  themselves  on  the  ground,  or  plunging  their  mouths 
into  the  water,  were  rejected ;  those  who  took  up  the  water  in  their 
hands,  and  lapped  it  with  self-restraint,  were  chosen.' 

It  is  not  easy  to  decide  precisely  what  is  meant  by  lapping,  as,  to 
our  Western  minds,  it  is  more  appropriately  applied  to  those  who 
bent  down  and  put  their  mouths  close  to  the  water.  But  it  has  been 
pointed  out  that  man  does  not  properly  lap,  nor  can  he  lap,  and 
therefore  the  term  must  be  used  in  a  figurative  sense.  To  know  the 
Eastern  customs  in  such  a  matter  we  must  consult  travellers  to,  and 
residents  in,  Eastern  lands,  and  be  guided  by  their  observations. 

Kitto  has  a  very  careful  and  suggestive  note :  *  The  explanation 
which  we  give  is  founded  upon  OUT  own  observation  of  the  different 
modes  in  which  men  drink  in  haste  when  coming  to  a  stream  on  a 
journey,  without  being  provided  with  vessels  wherewith  to  raise  the 
water  to  their  mouths.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  this  class  is  further 
described  as  "  the  number  of  those  that  lapped,  putting  their  hand  to 
their  mouth."  The  chief  distinction  between  them  and  the  others  is, 
that  they  did  not  bow  down  on  their  knees  to  bring  their  mouths 
near  the  water,  and  luxuriate  in  a  more  leisurely  draught.  They  con- 
tinued standing,  stooping  so  far  only  as  to  be  able  to  reach  the  water 
with  their  hands,  the  hollow  of  which  they  filled,  and  then  brought  it 
rapidly  to  the  mouth,  jerking  in  the  refreshing  contents.  The  motion, 
compared  to  a  dog's  lapping,  cannot  apply  to  the  tongue,  first,  be- 
cause the  human  tongue  is  not  framed  for  lapping ;  and,  secondly, 


300      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES 

because,  if  so,  it  would  be  an  action  belonging  rather  to  those  who 
brought  their  faces  down  to  the  water,  than  to  those  who  stood  upon 
their  feet.  Supposing  lapping  with  the  tongue  at  all  a  possible  action 
to  a  man,  it  would  certainly  not  be  resorted  to  by  one  who  had  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  a  handful  of  water  so  far  as  his  mouth.  It  would 
have  been  a  needless,  if  not  silly,  delay  in  quenching  his  thirst.  The 
motion  expressed  by  "  lapping  "  must  therefore  apply  to  the  hand,  the 
rapid  motion  of  which  between  the  water  and  the  mouth  might  be  not 
inaptly  compared  to  the  rapid  projection  and  retraction  of  a  dog's 
tongue  in  lapping.  This  last  action,  if  taken,  as  is  apparently  meant, 
for  an  indication  of  character,  would  denote  men  of  rapid  and  impul- 
sive action,  too  earnest  in  the  work  before  them  to  endure  to  satisfy 
their  animal  wants  with  the  leisurely  action  of  men  at  ease :  a  few 
hasty  handfuls  of  water  were  all  that  the  impatience  of  their  spirit,  in 
the  great  interests  before  them,  allowed  them  to  take.  These  were 
the  men  to  save  Israel.' 

Travellers  on  the  Continent,  who  undertake  long  days  of  walking, 
know  how  the  guides  warn  them  against  frequent  and  much  drinking 
of  water  on  the  way.  Ready  yielding  to  the  thirsty  feeling  nourishes 
it  into  strengthc  Restraint  best  masters  the  craving. 

Dr,  Turner,  writing  of  Polynesian  customs,  says  that  a  thirsty 
Samoan,  in  coming  to  a  stream  of  water,  stoops  down,  rests  the  palm 
of  his  left  hand  on  his  knee,  and  with  the  right  hand  throws  the  water 
up  so  quickly  as  to  form  a  continual  jet  from  the  stream  to  his  mouth, 
and  there  he  laps  until  he  is  satisfied. 

Jamieson  tells  us  that  the  wandering  people  in  Asia,  when  on  a 
journey  or  in  haste  they  come  to  water,  do  not  stoop  down  with  de- 
liberation on  their  knees,  but  only  bend  forwards  as  much  as  is 
necessary  to  bring  their  hand  in  contact  with  the  stream,  and  throw 
it  up  with  rapidity,  and  at  the  same  time  such  address  that  they  do 
not  drop  a  particle. 

The  Jewish  explanations  of  this  test  are  both  interesting  and 
curious,  though  we  cannot  but  regard  them  as  strained  and  unnatural. 
Josephus  says  that  Gideon  led  them  down  to  the  spring  in  the  fiercest 
heat  of  the  noon-day,  and  that  he  judged  those  to  be  the  bravest 
who  flung  themselves  down  and  drank,  and  those  to  be  the  cowards 
who  lapped  the  water  hastily  and  tumultuously.  Some  even  go  so 
far  as  to  suggest  that  the  Divine  aid  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
greatest  cowards  were  chosen.  Raschi  gives  the  Jewish  interpretation 
thus  :  '  Gideon  can  ascertain  the  religious  antecedents  of  his  men 
from  the  way  in  which  they  prepare  to  drink.  Idolaters  were  accus- 
tomed to  pray  kneeling  before  their  idols.  On  this  account  kneeling, 


LAPPING  AND  BOWING.  301 

even  as  a  mere  bodily  posture,  had  become  unpopular  and  ominous 
in  Israel,  and  was  avoided  as  much  as  possible.  Hence,  he  who,  in 
order  to  drink,  throws  himself  on  his  knees,  shows  thereby,  in  a  per- 
fectly free  and  natural  manner,  that  this  posture  is  nothing  unusual 
to  him ;  whereas  those  who  have  never  been  accustomed  to  kneel, 
feel  no  need  of  doing  it  now,  and  as  naturally  refrain  from  it.  It 
would  have  been  difficult  for  Gideon  to  have  ascertained,  in  any 
Dther  way,  what  had  been  the  attitude  of  his  men  towards  idolatry. 
While  quenching  their  eager  thirst,  all  deliberation  being  forgotten, 
they  freely  and  unrestrainedly  indicate  to  what  posture  they  were 
habituated.  It  is  a  principle  pervading  the  legendary  lore  of  all 
nations,  that  who  and  what  a  person  is  can  only  be  ascertained  by 
observing  him  when  under  no  constraint  of  any  kind.  The  queen  of 
a  northern  legend  exchanges  dresses  with  her  maid,  but  she  who  is 
not  the  queen  is  recognised  by  her  drinking.  That  which  is  here  in 
Scripture  accepted  with  reference  to  religious  life  and  its  recognitions, 
popular  literature  applies  to  the  keen,  discriminating  observance  of 
social  life.' 

Limitation  of  the   Rights   of  the  Blood-Avenger. 

JOSHUA  xx.  6  :  'And  he  shall  dwell  in  that  city,  until  he  stand  before  the  con- 
gregation for  judgment,  and  until  the  death  of  the  high  priest  that  shall  be  in 
those  days  ;  then  shall  the  slayer  return,  and  come  unto  his  own  city,  and  unto  his 
own  house,  unto  the  city  from  whence  he  fled.' 

Question. — Do  we  rightly  see  in  this  an  instance  of  the  Mosaic 
legislation  preserving  old  customs^  but  mitigating  their  undue  severity  ? 

Answer. — Lange  says  :  '  We  find  vengeance  for  blood  not  only 
among  the  Hebrews,  Arabs,  Persians,  but  also  among  the  Greeks, 
with  the  Germanic  and  Slavic  peoples,  in  the  infancy  of  their  develop- 
ment, as  now  among  savage  nations.'  In  such  cases  the  custom 
prevails  in  all  its  sternness,  and  without  qualifications.  The  offender 
is  pursued  relentlessly,  until  vengeance  can  be  wrought,  and  the 
guilt  of  blood  can  be  wiped  out. 

We  understand  the  procedure  to  have  been  as  follows.  Before 
Moses'  time  the  family  avenger  dealt  with  all  cases  in  which  life  was 
taken  violently,  recognising  no  distinction  between  murder  and  man- 
slaughter, and  allowing  no  mitigations  of  penalty.  Moses  arranged 
for  the  security  of  the  manslayer,  until,  calmly  and  judicially,  his 
act  could  be  estimated,  and  it  could  be  decided  whether  he  had 
killed  by  accident  or  upon  premeditation.  To  secure  this  unpre- 
judiced examination,  the  man  was  sheltered  in  the  city  of  refuge. 
If  it  was  decided  that  he  had  killed  intentionally,  the  murderer  was 


302      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  blood-avenger,  who  executed  natural 
justice  upon  him.  If  it  was  decided  that  he  had  killed  accidentally, 
he  was  preserved  from  the  blood-avenger,  but  treated  as  a  careless, 
dangerous  person,  and  compelled  strictly  to  remain  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  city  of  refuge.  But  the  light  of  hope  was  not  shut 
out  from  the  man.  He  was  not  enslaved  for  life.  Perhaps  no  sentence 
ever  passed  by  man  upon  his  fellow-man  ought  to  blot  out  hope 
utterly.  And  the  limitation  of  this  man's  sentence  was  so  specially 
gracious  because  it  was  uncertain.  The  high  priest  might  die  any 
year  ;  and  each  new  year  the  poor  man  might  renew  his  hope,  for  the 
priest  might  die  that  year.  Keil  says  that  *  the  death  of  the  earthly 
high  priest  became  a  type  of  that  of  the  heavenly  one.' 

The  Rev.  H.  C.  Waller,  M.A.,  in  Ellicotfs  Commentary,  has  an 
admirable  note  on  making  the  retention  of  the  sin-stricken  man  de- 
pendent on  the  life  of  the  high  priest.  '  If  the  manslayer  did  not 
intend  to  shed  the  blood  of  his  neighbour,  he  is  not  worthy  of  death, 
and  the  Divine  mercy  provides  a  shelter  wherein  he  may  still  live 
without  offence  to  the  Divine  majesty.  Such  a  shelter  is  the  city  of 
refuge,  a  city  of  priests  or  Levites,  whose  office  was  to  bear  the 
iniquity  of  the  children  of  Israel,  to  shield  their  brethren  from  the 
danger  they  incurred  by  the  dwelling  of  Jehovah  in  the  midst  of  them, 
u  dwelling  among  them  in  the  midst  of  their  uncleanness."  Hence 
the  manslayer  must  always  remain,  as  it  were,  under  the  shadow  of 
the  sin-bearing  priest  or  Levite,  that  he  might  live,  and  not  die  for 
the  innocent  blood  which  he  had  unintentionally  shed.  But  how 
could  the  death  of  the  high  priest  set  him  free  ?  Because  the  high 
priest  was  the  representative  of  the  whole  nation.  What  the  Levites 
were  to  all  Israel ;  what  the  priests  were  to  the  Levites ;  that  the 
high  priest  was  to  the  priests,  and  through  them  to  the  nation — the 
individual  sin-bearer  for  all.  Into  his  hands  came  year  by  year  "  all 
the  iniquities  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  all  their  transgressions  in 
all  their  sins,"  and  he  presented  a  ^-offering  for  all.  While  the  high 
priest  still  lived  he  would  still  be  legally  tainted  (burdened)  with  this 
load  of  sin,  for  the  law  provides  no  forgiveness  for  a  priest.  But  "  he 
that  is  dead  is  justified  from  sin"  and  at  his  death  the  load  which 
was  laid  on  the  high  priest  might  be  held  to  have  passed  from  him, 
for  he  had  paid  the  last  debt  a  man  can  pay  on  earth.  But  the  high 
priest  being  justified,  the  sinners  whom  he  represents  are  justified 
also,  and  therefore  the  manslayers  go  free.' 

On  the  intense  severity  of  the  custom  of  blood-avenging,  Dean 
Stanley  writes  thus  :  '  Of  all  the  virtues  of  civilization,  the  one  which 
most  incontestably  follows  in  its  train,  and  is  most  rarely  anticipated 


THE  BLOOD-A  VENGER.  303 

in  earlier  ages,  is  humanity.  And  rare  as  this  is  everywhere  in 
barbarous  nations,  it  is  rarest  in  the  East.  In  the  East  and  West  the 
value  of  animal  and  of  human  life  is  exactly  reversed.  An  Arab, 
who  will  be  shocked  at  the  notion  of  shooting  his  horse,  will  have  no 
scruple  in  killing  a  man.  And  what  was  the  fierceness  of  the  ancient 
Semitic  race,  especially,  is  apparent  both  from  the  later  Jewish  history, 
and  from  that  of  the  kindred  nations  of  Phoenicia  and  Carthage. 
Against  this  the  laws  of  Moses,  in  war,  in  slavery,  and  in  the  social 
relations  of  life,  stand  out,  as  has  often  been  observed,  in  marvellous 
contrast.  But  there  was  one  form  of  ferocity,  then  as  now,  peculiar 
to  the  Bedouin  tribes,  that  of  revenge  for  blood.  To  the  fourth 
generation  (it  is  the  exact  limit  laid  down  both  in  the  Bedouin  custom 
and  in  the  Mosaic  law),  the  lineal  descendant  of  a  murdered  man  is 
to  this  day  charged  with  the  duty  of  avenging  his  blood.  This 
institution,  so  deeply  seated  in  the  Arab  race  as  to  have  defied  the 
course  of  centuries,  and  the  efforts  of  three  religions,  was  assumed 
and  tolerated,  like  slavery,  polygamy,  or  any  other  of  the  ancient 
Asiatic  usages,  which  more  or  less  lasted  through  the  Jewish  times. 
But  it  was  restrained  by  the  establishment  of  the  cities  of  refuge.  If, 
for  the  hardness  of  the  Bedouin  heart,  Moses  left  the  avengers  of 
blood  as  he  found  them,  yet,  for  the  tenderness  of  heart  infused  by 
a  "  more  excellent  way,"  he  reared  those  barriers  against  them.  The 
common  law  of  the  desert  found  itself  kept  in  check  by  the  statute 
law  of  Palestine,  and  the  six  cities  became  (as  far  as  we  know  from 
history)  rather  monuments  of  what  had  been,  and  of  what  might 
have  been,  than  remedies  of  what  was.' 

Streets  in  Strange  Cities. 

I  KINGS  xx.  34  :  *  Thou  shall  make  streets  for  thee  in  Damascus,  as  my  father 
made  in  Samaria.' 

Question. —  What  Eastern  custom  is  illustrated  by  this  strange 
covenant  ? 

Answer. — The  word  translated  '  streets '  probably  means  '  open 
spaces '  or  *  squares,'  and  they  suggest  conveniences  for  carrying  on 
trade.  The  answering  term,  for  Western  life,  would  be  *  shops '  or 
*  markets.'  Granting  this  permission  to  Israel  was  really  giving  free 
openings  in  Damascus  to  Israelite  commerce.  Commercial  advan- 
tages, rather  than  any  other,  were  probably  sought  by  this  arrange- 
ment ;  which  may  be  compared  with  the  modern  Oriental  practice  of 
maintaining  *  Jews'  quarters  '  and  '  Christians'  quarters  '  in  all  cities 
of  any  considerable  size.  It  should  also  be  remembered  that  race 


304      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

jealousies  and  animosities  are  so  intense  in  the  East,  that  each  race 
resident  in  a  town  is  wisely  located  in  its  own  distinct  district ;  and, 
probably,  the  permission  of  Benhadad  secured  to  the  Jews,  in  this 
quarter  of  Damascus,  the  free  exercise  of  their  own  religion  and 
laws. 

Dr.  Barry  says :  *  This  concession  implies  a  virtual  acknowledg- 
ment of  supremacy;  for  the  right  to  have  certain  quarters  for 
residence,  for  trade,  perhaps  even  for  garrison,  in  the  capital  of  a 
king,  belongs  only  to  one  who  has  sovereignty  over  him.' 

Probably,  at  a  former  period,  when  Benhadad's  father  had  con- 
quered Israel,  he  had  settled  a  sort  of  colony  of  Syrians  in  the 
capital  of  the  conquered  country ;  and  those  colonists  dwelt  in 
streets,  either  expressly  built  for  them,  or  from  which  Israelitish 
inhabitants  had  been  expelled  in  order  to  make  room  for  them. 
Now,  Benhadad,  in  turn  being  subdued,  agrees  that  Ahab  shall 
either  build  or  seize  certain  streets  in  the  Syrian  capital,  to  be 
occupied  by  Israelites.  The  transaction  receives  a  good  illustration 
in  the  history  of  Constantinople.  When  that  city  had  been  be- 
sieged by  Bajazet,  the  Turkish  Sultan,  for  about  two  years,  at  the 
end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  Emmanuel,  the  Greek  Emperor,  sent 
out  ambassadors  to  the  Grand  Turk  to  sue  for  peace.  At  length  a 
treaty  was  concluded,  and  peace  restored,  on  the  condition,  among 
others,  that  the  Turks  should  have  liberty  to  dwell  in  one  street,  with 
free  exercise  of  their  own  religion  and  laws,  and  under  a  judge  of 
their  own  nation.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  a  large  number  of  Turks 
forthwith  took  up  their  residence  at  the  capital. 

Uzziah's  Incense-Burning. 

2  CHRONICLES  xxvi.  16  ;  '  But  when  he  was  strong,  his  heart  was  lifted  up  to 
his  destruction  :  for  he  transgressed  against  the  Lord  his  God,  and  went  into  the 
temple  of  the  Lord  to  burn  incense  upon  the  altar  of  incense.'  The  Rev.  Ver. 
reads  :  '  lifted  up  so  that  he  did  corruptly,  and  he  trespassed  against  the  Lord  his 
God.' 

Question. — Can  we  get  at  Uzziatts  idea  and  intention  in  thus 
persisting  in  performing  himself  the  duty  of  the  priests  1 

Answer. — It  is  probable  that  Uzziah  was  greatly  interested  in 
what  we  may  call  religious  archaeology;  in  ancient  rites,  utensils, 
altars,  decorations,  services,  etc.  Finding  that  David  and  Solomon 
had  actually  officiated  as  priests,  he  was  disposed  to  restore  the 
practice.  Azariah,  the  high  priest,  was  evidently  anxiously  watching 
this  tendency  in  the  king,  the  more  anxiously  because  at  this  time 
the  priests  were  earnestly  seeking  to  restore  their  paramount  influence 


UZZIAH' S  INCENSE-BURNING.  305 

with  the  people ;  so  when  the  peculiar  privileges  of  his  order  were 
touched,  he  showed  the  utmost  vigour  in  his  resistance.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  party  spirit  at  this  time.  A  king's  party  and  a  priest's 
party  had  come  into  conflict,  and  each  was  trying  to  master  the 
other. 

It  is  doubtful  whether,  in  view  of  precedents,  Uzziah's  proposed 
act  was  a  wrong  one ;  but  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  spirit  of  his  act 
was  so  entirely  different  from  the  spirit  of  David  or  Solomon,  that 
what  might  otherwise  have  been  permitted,  under  the  circumstances 
became  a  sacrilegious  act ;  and  this  God  recognised  by  permitting  a 
divine  judgment  to  fall  upon  the  king. 

Some  writers  seriously  question  whether  the  precedents  of  David 
and  Solomon  can  be  appealed  to,  because,  though  it  is  quite  true 
that  they  took  a  very  leading  part  in  certain  great  state  and  religious 
ceremonials,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  they  actually  themselves 
performed  any  of  the  distinctly  priestly  functions,  and  the  offer 
of  incense  on  the  golden  altar  was  quite  an  exclusive  priestly 
duty. 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  thinks  'the  reformation  under  Jehoiada,  and  the 
long  pupilage  of  Jehoash,  had  consolidated  the  power  of  the  priests, 
and  enabled  them  to  claim  an  exclusive  right  to  perform  the  sacred 
offices.  Uzziah,  however,  we  are  told,  did  not  acknowledge  this 
recent  innovation,  and  having  put  on  priestly  robes  on  a  day  of  high 
festival,  entered  the  holy  place  to  offer  incense  on  the  golden  altar. 
For  the  first  time,  however,  in  the  history  of  the  monarchy,  the 
royal  assumption  of  such  duties  was  resented  as  a  sacrilege.* 

Dr.  A.  Phelps  regards  'the  case  of  Uzziah  as  one  of  the  few 
instances  recorded  in  the  Scriptures  of  instant  and  severe  punishment 
of  the  sin  of  irreverence  and  presumption.' 

Dean  Stanley  says  :  *  Whether  it  was  that,  in  the  changes  that  had 
elapsed  since  the  reign  of  Solomon,  the  custom  had  dropped,  or 
whether  Uzziah  entered  upon  it  in  a  haughty  and  irritating  spirit,  or 
whether  the  priestly  order,  since  their  accession  of  power  through 
the  influence  of  Jehoiada,  claimed  more  than  their  predecessors 
had  claimed  in  former  times,  it  is  said  that  the  high  priest  Azariah, 
with  eighty  colleagues,  positively  forbade  the  king's  entrance, 
on  the  ground  that  this  was  a  privilege  peculiar  to  the  priestly 
office.' 

In  estimating  the  act  of  Uzziah,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
the  offering  of  the  daily  incense  involved  going  within  the  Holy 
Place,  and  the  office  was  regarded  as  so  honourable  that  no  one  was 
allowed  to  perform  it  twice,  *  since  it  brought  the  offering  priest 

ao 


306      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

nearer  the  Divine  Presence  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  than  any  other 
priestly  act,  and  carried  with  it  the  richest  blessing  from  on  high, 
which  all  ought  to  have  a  chance  of  thus  obtaining.  Like  the  rest 
of  the  sacred  functions,  it  was  determined  by  lot.' 

Sowing  Cities  with  Salt. 

JUDGES  ix.  45  :  *  And  Abimelech  fought  against  the  city  all  that  day  ;  and  he 
took  the  city,  and  slew  the  people  that  was  therein,  and  beat  down  the  city,  and 
sowed  it  with  salt.' 

Question. —  Was  this  a  symbolical  action,  or  was  it  intended  to 
do  the  district  a  permanent  and  irreparable  injury  ? 

Answer.— Serious  damage  might  be  done,  but  no  irreparable 
injury  could  follow  sowing  lands  with  salt,  whose  power  would 
gradually  become  exhausted,  as  does  the  power  of  manures.  Some 
lands  need  an  addition  of  salt  to  complete  their  proper  chemical 
constituents,  and  it  is  quite  usual  for  farmers  to  cast  a  judiciously 
limited  quantity  over  their  lands.  Where  this  is  done  on  grass  lands 
a  crop  of  mushrooms  is  the  usual  result.  Too  much  salt  does 
destroy  vegetable  growths,  and  make  the  land  barren,  and  therefore 
salt  is  used  in  garden  paths,  to  destroy  troublesome  weeds ;  but  it 
will  destroy  the  grass,  too,  if  permitted  to  touch  it. 

The  destructive  power  is  recognised,  but  the  custom  must  be 
mainly  regarded  as  symbolical  Pliny  say :  '  Every  place  on  which 
salt  is  found  is  barren,  and  produces  nothing.'  It  was  very  natural 
that  when  a  district  was  depopulated,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  turned 
into  a  desert,  it  should,  in  a  symbolic  way,  be  sowed  with  salt. 

In  Bagsters  Bible  some  illustrations  of  this  custom  are  given. 
'Sigonius  observes  that  when  Milan  was  taken,  A.D.  1162,  the  walls 
were  razed,  and  it  was  sown  with  salt.  And  Brantome  informs  us 
that  it  was  an  ancient  custom  in  France  to  sow  the  house  of  a  man 
with  salt  who  had  been  declared  a  traitor  to  his  king.  Charles  IX., 
King  of  France,  the  most  base  and  perfidious  of  human  beings, 
caused  the  house  of  Admiral  Coligni  (whom  he  and  the  Duke  of 
Guise  caused  to  be  murdered,  with  thousands  more  Protestants,  on 
the  eve  of  St.  Bartholomew,  1572)  to  be  sown  with  salt !' 

Lange  says,  favouring  the  idea  that  it  was  a  symbolic  act :  *  The 
usual  explanation  of  this  proceeding  is,  that  by  it  Abimelech  intends 
to  declare  Shechem  an  unfruitful  land,  a  land  of  salt,  as  it  were. 
But  this  explanation,  although  accepted  by  all  recent  expositors,  does 
not  appear  to  be  satisfactory.  For  to  make  the  land  unfruitful,  he 
neither  intends  nor,  if  he  did,  were  he  able  ;  for  no  one  will  think  of 


SOWING  CITIES  WITH  SALT.  307 

such  a  salting  as  would  actually  bring  about  this  result.  He  can  only 
intend  to  say,  that  this  city,  being  unfaithful  to  its  covenants,  and 
forgetful  of  its  oaths,  has  ceased  to  exist,  and  is  never  more  to  be 
known  as  a  city.  When  Joshua  inflicted  a  similar  destruction  on 
Jericho,  he  swore  that  it  should  never  be  rebuilt  (Josh.  vi.  26). 
Abimelech  makes  the  same  declaration  in  the  act  of  strewing  salt ; 
for  salt  is  the  symbol  of  an  oath,  just  as  among  all  nations,  not  except- 
the  dull  tribes  of  Siberia,  it  was  the  symbol  of  covenants.  The  salt 
which  he  strewed  over  Shechem  intimated  both  the  cause  and  the 
perpetuity  of  the  vengeance  inflicted.' 

For  illustrations  of  the  use  of  c  salt '  as  a  figure  for  barrenness  and 
desolation,  see  Deut.  xxix.  23 ;  Jer.  xvii.  6 ;  Ezek.  xlvii.  1 1 ; 
Zeph.  ii.  9. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  add  a  note  on  the  pecularities  of  salt  in 
Bible  lands.  In  Palestine  this  substance  is  procured  from  the  rock 
salt  at  the  south  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  also  from  the  salt  deposits 
on  the  shores  of  that  lake,  and  from  various  marshes.  From  this  last 
source  most  of  the  salt  now  used  is  procured.  *  It  is  not  manufactured 
by  boiling  clean  salt  water,  nor  quarried  from  mines,  but  is  obtained 
from  marshes  along  the  seashore,  or  from  salt  lakes  in  the  interior, 
which  dry  up  in  summer,  as  the  one  in  the  desert  north  of  Palmyra, 
and  the  great  lake  of  Jebbul,  south-east  of  Aleppo.'  Much  earth  and 
impurity  is  collected  with  this  salt ;  and  with  the  chloride  of  sodium, 
which  easily  dissolves  in  water,  much  insoluble  sulphate  of  lime  is 
mixed ;  so  that  there  is  an  insipid  residuum,  the  '  salt  which  has  lost 
its  savour,'  and  which  travellers  assure  us  they  have  seen  literally 
*  trodden  under  foot.' 

The  Sins  of  Eli's  Sons. 

i  SAMUEL  ii.  17  :  '  And  the  sin  of  the  young  men  was  very  great  before  the 
Lord  ;  for  men  abhorred  the  offering  of  the  Lord.' 

Difficulty. — The  fault  of  these  young  priests  seems  to  have  concerned 
a  mere  matter  of  ceremonial  order  ^  and  ii  is  strange  to  find  so  deep  a 
moral  significance  attached  to  it. 

Explanation. — Acts  can  never  be  safely  judged  as  mere  acts. 
They  must  be  considered  as  done  by  particular  persons,  and  by  those 
persons  as  standing  in  particular  relations,  and  under  special  respon- 
sibilities. They  must  even  be  tested  in  view  of  the  motives  and 
intentions  of  the  actors.  Before  God  sin  must  ever  lie,  not  in  the 
bare  act,  but  in  the  will  of  the  person  acting.  And  God  read  the 
neart  of  these  young  men  through  their  covetous,  inconsiderate,  dis- 

20 — 2 


308     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

obedient,  and  self-willed  actions.  A  little  thing  may  suffice  to  reveal 
a  bad  heart :  and  it  may  be  a  very  bad  heart  which  finds  expression 
in  a  little  thing.  The  sin  of  these  young  priests  concerned  but  a 
little  matter,  but  it  was  very  great  before  God,  because  it  was  just 
the  very  kind  of  sin  which  only  utterly  wrong-hearted  men  could  do. 
Canon  Spence  says :  *  The  whole  conduct  of  these  high-priestly 
officials  showed  they  were  utter  unbelievers.  They  used  their  sacred 
position  merely  as  affording  an  opportunity  for  their  selfish  extortions, 
and,  as  is  so  often  the  case  now,  so  it  was  then,  their  unbelief  was 
the  source  of  their  moral  worthlessness.  In  all  the  strange  rites  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Levitical  law,  there  was  a  higher  symbolism  in- 
volved. This  was  ruthlessly  set  at  nought  and  trampled  on  by  these 
reckless,  covetous  guardians  of  the  worship  of  Israel.  Portions  of 
the  sacrifice  fell  legally  to  the  ministering  priests  in  lieu  of  fee.  It 
was  fair  "  that  they  which  ministered  at  the  altar  should  live  of  the 
altar."  The  "  heave  leg  "  and  the  "  wave  breast "  of  the  slaughtered 
victim  were  theirs  by  right,  and  these  the  sacrificing  priest  was  to 
receive  after  the  fat  portion  of  the  sacrifice  had  been  burnt  upon  the 
altar.  But  to  take  the  flesh  of  the  victim,  and  roast  it  before  the 
symbolic  offering  had  been  made,  was  a  crime  which  was  equivalent 
to  robbing  God.  It  dishonoured  the  whole  ceremony.' 

Dean  Stanley  has  a  fine  reference  to  these  young  priests.  '  Hophni 
and  Phinehas  (the  two  sons  of  Eli)  are,  for  students  of  ecclesiastical 
history,  eminently  suggestive  characters.  They  are  true  exemplars  of 
the  grasping  and  worldly  clergy  of  all  ages.  It  was  the  sacrificial 
feasts  that  gave  occasion  for  their  rapacity.  It  was  the  dances  and 
assemblies  of  the  women  in  the  vineyards  and  before  the  sacred  feast 
that  gave  occasion  for  their  debaucheries.  They  were  the  worst 
development  of  the  lawlessness  of  the  age,  penetrating,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  wandering  Levite  of  the  Book  of  Judges,  into  the  most  sacred 
offices.  But  the  coarseness  of  these  vices  does  not  make  the  moral 
less  pointed  for  all  times.  The  three-pronged  fork  which  fishes  up 
the  seething  flesh  is  the  earliest  type  of  grasping  at  pluralities  and 
Church  preferments  by  base  means;  the  open  profligacy  at  the  door  of 
the  Tabernacle  is  the  type  of  many  a  scandal  brought  on  the  Christian 
Church  by  the  selfishness  or  sensuality  of  the  ministers.' 

Kitto,  after  describing  carefully  the  nature  of  the  young  priests* 
exactions,  adds  :  *  What  wonder  that  the  people  were  disgusted  at 
these  proceedings,  and  that  the  result  was,  that  they  abstained  from 
bringing  their  peace-offerings  to  the  altar,  seeing  that  their  doing  so 
subjected  them  to  such  insult  and  oppression,  and  produced  circum- 
stances so  revolting  to  their  religious  feelings ' 


GODS  OF  THE  HILLS  AND  OF  THE  PLAINS.     300 
Gods  of  the  Hills  and  of  the  Plains. 

I  KINGS  xx.  23  :  •  And  the  servants  of  the  King  of  Syria  said  unto  him,  Their 
gods  are  gods  of  the  hills  ;  therefore  they  were  stronger  than  we  ;  but  let  us  fight 
against  them  in  the  plain,  and  surely  we  shall  be  stronger  than  they.' 

Question. — Is  the  sentiment  thus  expressed  based  on  any  common 
and  general  idea  of  idolatrous  people  ? 

Answer. — Apart  from  Divine  revelation  men  have  never  been 
able  to  conceive  the  unity  of  the  Divine  Being.  They  recognised  a 
variety  of  forces  at  work,  acting,  some  for  good  and  some  for  evil, 
and  they  deified  all  these  forces.  In  a  similar  way  they  observed 
differing  characteristics  of  countries,  in  their  conformation,  climate, 
productions,  etc.,  and  they  marked  off  the  gods  of  each  country  as 
having  answering  features.  It  was  quite  in  accordance  with  the 
general  sentiment,  therefore,  that  these  Syrians  should  explain  their 
defeat  by  suggesting  a  difference,  if  not  superiority,  in  the  God  of 
Palestine,  as  the  God  of  the  hills.  Their  reasoning  is  curious  to 
us,  but  perfectly  natural  to  them,  seeing  they  believed  in  the 
restricted  local  power  of  particular  deities.  The  idea  they  lighted 
on  was  suggested  by  the  fact  that  Palestine  was  a  hilly  country,  and 
it  expressed  the  very  simple  fact  that  the  Syrian  chariots  were  found 
unsuitable  for  warfare  when  it  was  impossible  to  furiously  dash  at  an 
enemy,  as  the  chariots  were  wont  to  do  in  the  plains.  The  real 
cause  of  the  Syrian  defeat,  judged  from  the  human  standpoint,  was 
the  failure  in  the  military  skill  of  adapting  engines  and  weapons 
to  the  precise  expedition.  It  is  not  an  unusual  thing  for  men 
to  accuse  the  gods,  in  order  to  excuse  their  own  mistakes  and 
follies. 

'  In  the  parcelling  out  of  the  earth  by  paganism  among  national 
and  territorial  gods,  and  among  gods  who  presided  over  the  various 
forms,  and  powers,  and  qualities  of  nature,  we  find  many  gods  of 
the  mountains,  and  some,  but  not  so  many,  of  the  valleys.  At  the 
present  day  the  Hindoos  have  their  gods  of  the  hills,  and  also  of  the 
lower  places.  Thus  Siva,  Vishnu,  and  Murraga-Murte,  are  those  of 
the  high  places ;  while  Vyravar,  Urruttera,  and  many  demons,  are  the 
deities  of  the  lower  regions.  So,  in  classical  antiquity,  we  meet 
with  Collina,  the  goddess  of  the  hills,  and  Vallina,  of  valleys.  We 
also  hear  of  the  god  Montinus,  and  of  a  god  Peninus,  who  had 
his  name  from  a  part  of  the  Alps  so  called,  where  he  was  worshipped, 
and  where  also  the  goddess  Penina  was  honoured.  Even  Jupiter  had 
names  from  mountains,  as  Olympius,  Capitolinus,  etc  ;  and  the 
"great  universal  Pan  "  is  called  "mountainous  Pan  ;'  by  Sophocles.' 


3io      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Stackhouse  says  :  '  The  Syrians  might  have  a  conceit  that  the  god 
of  Israel  was  a  god  of  the  mountains,  because  Canaan,  they  saw, 
was  a  mountainous  land ;  the  Israelites  delighted  to  sacrifice  on  high 
places ;  their  law,  they  might  have  heard,  was  given  on  the  top  of  a 
mountain ;  their  temple  stood  upon  a  famous  eminence,  as  did 
Samaria,  where  they  had  so  lately  received  a  signal  defeat ;  for  their 
further  notion  was,  that  the  gods  of  the  mountains  had  a  power  to 
inject  a  panic  fear  into  any  army  whenever  they  pleased.' 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  regards  the  explanation  of  these 
officers  of  the  King  of  Syria  as  a  mere  political  device.  '  The 
Syrian  chiefs  suggest  that  the  Israelite  gods  cannot  be  resisted  on 
the  hills,  but  that  they  will  be  found,  even  within  the  limits  of  their 
own  country,  less  powerful  on  the  plains  than  among  the  mountains. 
This  may  have  been  a  mere  politic  device — the  chiefs  being  really 
anxious,  on  military  grounds,  to  encounter  their  enemy  on  the  plain, 
where  alone  chariots  would  be  of  much  service,  chariots  forming  an 
important  element  in  the  strength  of  a  Syrian  army.  In  the  plain 
the  Israelites  had  always  fought  at  a  disadvantage,  and  had  proved 
themselves  weaker  than  on  the  hills.' 

Hewers  of  Wood  and  Drawers  of  Water. 

JOSHUA  ix.  23  :  '  Now  therefore  ye  are  cursed,  and  there  shall  none  of  you  be 
freed  from  being  bondmen,  and  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  for  the 
house  of  my  God.' 

Question. —  What  precise  position,  in  relation  to  the  Israelite 
nation,  did  these  Gibeonites  occupy  ?  Are  we  to  understand  this  as 
a  description  of  their  work,  or  as  a  figure  of  their  dependent 
position  ? 

Answer. — Both,  though  probably  the  figurative  aspect  is  the 
more  prominent  and  important.  Paxton  skilfully  illustrates  both  in 
the  following  passage : — *  In  the  kingdom  of  Algiers,  the  women  and 
children  are  charged  with  the  care  of  their  flocks  and  their  herds, 
with  providing  food  for  the  family,  cutting  fuel,  fetching  water,  and, 
when  their  domestic  affairs  allow  them,  with  tending  their  silkworms. 
The  daughters  of  the  Turcomans  in  Palestine  are  employed  in  the 
same  mean  and  laborious  offices.  In  Homer,  Andromache  fed  the 
horses  of  her  heroic  husband.  It  is  probable  the  cutting  of  wood 
was  another  female  occupation.  The  very  great  antiquity  of  these 
( ustoms  is  confirmed  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  who  complains  that 
the  children  were  sent  to  gather  wood  for  idolatrous  purposes ;  and 
in  his  Lamentations  he  bewails  the  oppressions  which  his  people 


HEWERS  OF  WOOD  AND  DRA  WERS  OF  WATER,  311 

suffered  from  their  enemies  in  these  terms :  "  They  took  the  young 
men  to  grind,  and  the  children  fell  under  the  wood."  Hence  the 
servile  condition  to  which  the  Gibeonites  were  reduced  by  Joshua, 
for  imposing  on  him  and  the  princes  of  the  congregation,  appears  to 
have  been  much  more  severe  than  we  are  apt  at  first  to  suppose. 
The  bitterness  of  their  doom  did  not  consist  in  being  subjected  to  a 
laborious  service,  for  it  was  the  usual  employment  of  women  and 
children,  but  in  their  being  degraded  from  the  characteristic  employ- 
ment of  men,  that  of  bearing  arms,  and  condemned,  with  their 
posterity  for  ever,  to  the  employment  of  females.' 

Illustrating  the  kinds  of  work  which  these  Gibeonites  had  to  do, 
Van  Lennep  tells  us  that  '  at  Constantinople  water  is  supplied  to  all 
the  houses  by  Armenian  Christian  Sakkas,  who  convey  it  in  large 
leather  bags  suspended  from  the  shoulder ;  and  no  one  belonging  to 
any  other  nation  would  venture  to  infringe  upon  the  monoply. 
They  are  also  the  porters  of  the  capital.  But  the  trade  in  charcoal 
and  wood  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  who  alone  hew  the  latter. 
The  celebrated  Smyrna  porters  are  all  Turks  from  Konieh  (Iconium), 
and  the  business  is  confined  to  certain  families,  whose  children  are 
trained  to  it  from  childhood.' 

It  seems  to  have  been  thought  that  reducing  these  Gibeonites  to  a 
servile  condition  would  limit,  if  not  wholly  remove,  their  evil  influ- 
ence as  idolaters  in  the  land.  There  is  not  much  danger  of  a  nation 
taking  up  with  the  religion  of  its  slaves. 

Kitto  seems  to  limit  the  judgment  to  duties  connected  with  the 
tabernacle  service.  He  says  :  '  Such  was  the  respect  felt  by  all  the 
Israelites  for  the  oath  which  had  been  taken,  that  no  one  supposed 
there  was  any  other  course  now  to  be  followed  than  to  spare  their 
lives  and  respect  the  property  of  the  Gibeonites ;  yet,  to  punish 
their  deception,  it  was  directed  that  they  should  henceforth  be 
devoted  to  the  service  of  the  tabernacle,  and  be  employed  in  the 
servile  and  laborious  offices  of  hewing  the  wood  and  drawing  the 
water  required  in  the  sacred  offices,  from  which  the  Israelites  them- 
selves were  thenceforth  relieved.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the 
whole,  or  the  greater  part  of  them,  were  thus  employed  at  once.  A 
certain  number  of  them  performed  it  in  rotation,  while  remaining  in 
possession  of  their  city  and  their  goods.'  Later  on,  they  were 
identified  as  the  Nethinims. 


3i2      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
Customs  at  Sacrificial  Feasts. 

I  SAMUEL  ix.  22 :  And  Samuel  took  Saul  and  his  servant,  and  brought  them 
into  the  guest-chamber,  and  made  them  sit  in  the  chiefest  place  among  them  that 
were  bidden,  which  were  about  thirty  persons.' 

Question. —  What  special  significance  attached  to  tJie  feasts  which 
usually  followed  acts  of  sacrifice  ? 

Answer. — It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  attention  of  Bible 
students  should  be  so  engrossed  with  the  sacrifices  as  almost  entirely 
to  neglect  the  feastings  which  were  connected  with  them,  and  com- 
pleted the  symbolical  meaning  of  them.  When  the  sacrifice  was  not 
wholly  burnt,  a  portion  of  it  was  used  as  food,  both  by  the  priests  and 
also  by  the  offerers  themselves.  The  custom  of  feasting  together  after 
sacrifice  is  of  the  greatest  antiquity  among  all  nations,  and  it  is  alluded 
to  by  Homer.  The  idea  of  it  is,  that  reconciliation  with  God  having 
been  effected  through  sacrifice,  God  invites  the  offerers  to  feast  with 
Him  as  His  friends.  For  illustration  we  may  be  reminded  that  a 
king  would  be  likely  to  seal  his  reconciliation  with  an  offended  sub- 
ject by  inviting  him  to  stay  and  dine  with  him.  Apart  from  this  feast, 
the  offerer  would  have  no  response  to  his  sacrifice,  no  sign  of  his 
acceptance. 

Some  see  in  the  sacrificial  feasts  a  type  of  the  communion  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  which  we  observe  after  our  Lord's  great  sacrifice  for 
us.  That,  amongst  its  other  suggestions,  certainly  does  keep  in  our 
minds  the  state  of  acceptance  with  God,  into  which  we  enter  through 
the  sacrifice  of  our  Lord.  It  is  our  spiritual  feast  following  upon  a 
spiritual  sacrifice.  / 

Kitto  explains  the  singular  way  in  which  Samuel  did  honour  to 
Saul  at  this  feast :  '  He  assigned  to  this  travel-worn  but  noble-looking 
stranger  the  place  of  honour,  which  we  know  was  the  right-hand 
corner,  and  directed  the  cook  to  set  before  him  the  most  distinguished 
portion  of  the  meat.  This  was  the  shoulder  ;  and  it  seems  to  have 
been,  under  Samuel's  direction,  reserved  for  this  purpose.  We  appre- 
hend that  this  was  the  right  shoulder,  which,  as  the  due  of  the  sacri- 
iicer,  had  been  assigned  to  Samuel ;  and  he  had  thus  directed  it  to  be 
prepared  for  his  expected  guest  We  the  rather  think  this,  as  we  are 
aware  of  no  distinction  belonging  to  the  left  shoulder ;  whereas  the 
assignment  of  the  right  shoulder,  the  priestly  joint,  to  the  stranger, 
was  a  most  remarkable  distinction  and  honour,  well  calculated  to 
draw  general  attention  to  him,  and,  together  with  his  stately  figure 
and  the  honourable  place  assigned  him,  to  lead  to  the  expectation  of 
some  remarkable  disclosures  respecting  him.' 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  DAG  ON.  313 

The  Temple  of  Dagon  resting  on  Two  Pillars. 

JUDGES  xvi.  29  :  '  And  Samson  took  hold  of  the  two  middle  pillars  upon  which 
the  house  rested,  and  leaned  upon  them,  the  one  with  his  right  hand,  and  the 
other  with  his  left '  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — No  building  that  we  can  conceive  of  could  hold  thou- 
sands of  persons  on  the  roof,  and  yet  rest  on  two  pillars  so  close  together 
that  a  man  could  grasp  both. 

Explanation. — Dr.  Thomson,  in  Land  and  Book,  has,  once  for 
all,  met  and  settled  this  difficulty.  He  says  :  *  The  roofs  in  Gaza 
were  then  flat,  as  they  are  now,  and  it  does  not  require  a  very  large 
space  for  three  thousand  people  who  stand  as  close  as  they  can  be 
packed.  So  much  for  the  size  of  the  building.  A  further  explanation 
may  be  found  in  the  peculiar  topography  of  Gaza.  Most  of  it  is  built 
on  hills,  which,  though  comparatively  low,  have  declivities  exceed- 
ingly steep.  The  temple  was  erected  over  one  of  these,  beyond  a 
doubt,  for  such  was  and  is  the  custom  in  the  East ;  and  in  such  a 
position,  if  the  central  columns  were  taken  out,  the  whole  edifice 
would  be  precipitated  down  the  hill  in  ruinous  confusion.  There  is 
such  a  steep  declivity  on  the  north-east  corner  of  the  present  city, 
near  the  old  dilapidated  castle  and  palace,  and  the  houses  in  that 
vicinity  have  fragments  of  columns  wrought  into  the  walls,  and  laid 
down  as  sills  for  their  gates.' 

The  older  explanation  was  that  a  gallery  ran  round,  or  partly  round, 
an  open  court,  protected  by  a  balustrade.  Samson  was  placed  in  the 
court ;  the  lords  and  ladies  were  grouped  under  the  gallery ;  the 
people  crowded  on  the  gallery,  pressing  against  the  balustrades. 
When  the  two  central  pillars  of  the  one  side  gave  way,  the  balustrade 
would  break,  the  panic  of  the  people  would  overweight  the  unsup- 
ported parts,  and  piece  after  piece  of  the  gallery  would  give  way, 
heaping  its  ruins  on  the  lords  and  ladies  below,  and  casting  the 
people,  in  crowded  struggling  masses,  on  tne  open  court.  It  is  easy 
to  realize  the  scene  from  this  point  of  view.  *  When  the  pillars  were 
removed,  the  weight  of  three  thousand  people  brought  the  roof  down 
with  a  fearful  crash,  and  those  above  fell  on  those  below,  together 
with  the  stones  and  timbers,  and  a  great  slaughter  was  the  result.' 
We  may  reasonably  suppose  that  the  removal  of  the  central  pillars 
was  a  beginning  of  the  catastrophe — the  first  cause,  but  not  the  entire 
cause  of  the  calamity.  The  removal  of  a  chief  prop,  or  support,  is 
followed  oftentimes  by  a  perilous  strain  on  the  weaker  portions. 
Kitto  tells  us,  that  '  in  very  many  Eastern  buildings  the  whole  centre 
of  the  principal  side  of  the  enclosed  area  (towards  which  all  parts  of 


314      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  building  generally  front)  is  made  to  rest  upon  one  or  two  pillars, 
so  that  their  removal  would  most  certainly  involve  the  downfall  of 
that  part ;  and  from  the  connection  of  the  parts,  this  would  involve 
the  overthrow  of  the  whole  range  of  building  on  that  side  at  least. 
And  if  this  be  the  obvious  result  in  ordinary  cases,  much  more  cer- 
tain would  it  be  here,  when  the  roof,  and  no  doubt  the  galleries,  if 
any,  looking  into  the  court,  were  crowded  with  people,  whose  weight 
must  have  created  so  great  a  strain  and  pressure,  that  the  withdrawal 
of  any  single  prop  must  bring  the  whole  to  the  ground  in  an 
instant' 

*  When  Dr.  Shaw  was  at  Algiers  he  frequently  saw  the  inhabitants 
diverted  upon  the  roof  of  the  dey's  palace,  which,  like  many  more  of 
the  same  quality  and  denomination,  has  an  advanced  cloister  over 
against  the  gate  of  the  palace,  made  in  the  form  of  a  large  pent- 
house, supported  only  by  one  or  two  contiguous  pillars  in  the  front, 
or  else  in  the  centre.  Supposing,  therefore,  that  in  the  house  of 
Dagon  was  a  cloistered  building  of  this  kind,  the  pulling  down  of  the 
front  or  centre  pillars  which  supported  it,  would  alone  be  attended 
with  the  catastrophe  which  happened  to  the  Philistines.' — Pax  f on. 

Intercessory  Sanctifying. 

JOB  i.  5  :  '  And  it  was  so,  when  the  days  of  their  feasting  were  gone  about, 
that  Job  sent  and  sanctified  them,  and  rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  and  offered 
burnt -offerings  according  to  the  number  of  them  all  :  for  Job  said,  It  may  be  that 
my  sons  have  sinned,  and  renounced  God  in  their  hearts  '  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — The  relations  of  a  man  with  God  are  strictly  indi- 
vidual and  personal,  and  the  business  of  personal  religion  cannot  be 
delegated  to  anybody -,  or  undertaken  by  anybody  in  our  behalf. 

Explanation. — The  story  of  Job  belongs  to  patriarchal  times, 
and  we  are  not  very  well  informed  on  the  peculiarities  of  patriarchal 
religion.  Whether  the  Book  of  Job  is  a  relic  of  the  writing  of  very 
ancient  times,  or,  as  seems  more  probable,  a  composition  of  the  age 
of  Solomon,  based  upon  a  very  early  legend,  or  history,  the  surround- 
ings of  the  story  are  strictly  patriarchal ;  there  is  in  the  book  no 
reference  to  priests,  revealed  law,  temple,  or  organized  worship. 

But  it  should  be  understood  that  religion  for  man,  in  every  age, 
and  in  every  clime,  must  take  two  distinct,  but  very  closely  related, 
forms.  It  is  always  a  matter  which  the  individual  must  settle  for 
himself,  and  in  his  own  way,  by  direct  and  personal  relations  with 
God.  And  since  men  must  dwell  together  in  families  and  societies, 
it  must  have  some  outward  forms  of  expression,  in  which  all  may 
agree  to  join.  The  common  worship  is  always  found  to  be  directly 


INTER  CESS  OR  Y  SANCTIFYING.  3 1 5 

helpful  toward  the  culture  of  the  personal  life,  and  the  personal  piety 
is  the  source  of  ever  fresh  vitality  in  the  common  worship.  Probably^ 
if  we  could  keep  to  the  stricter  meaning  of  terms,  we  might  say  that 
every  man  should  have  both  *  piety  '  and  *  religion.' 

The  question  we  have  to  meet  is  this,  What  forms  of  common  ana 
united  worship  were  established  in  patriarchal  times  ?  They  must 
have  been  such  as  were  suitable  to  tribes  that  were  frequently  moving 
from  one  spot  to  another ;  and  they  must  have  been  of  the  simplest 
character.  The  chief  of  the  tribe  was  regarded  as  the  priest,  and  by 
the  simple  rite  of  the  burnt-offering,  on  fitting  occasions,  he  expressed 
for  his  tribe  the  sense  of  God's  claim  to  perfect  service,  the  convic- 
tion of  short-coming  and  sin,  the  desire  for  pardon,  and  the  readiness 
to  offer  a  full  consecration  of  self  unto  the  Lord.  These  recurring 
acts  of  sacrifice  became  the  education  of  the  tribe  in  religious  truths 
and  duties;  they  helped,  but  they  did  not  stand  in  place  of,  nor 
remove  the  necessity  for,  personal  godliness. 

Job's  burnt-offerings  belong  to  the  class  of  helpful  ceremonies, 
which  can  express  piety,  but  cannot  take  the  place  of  it ;  can  call 
to  duty,  but  cannot  stand  instead  of  doing  our  duty  to  God  and  to 
man.  Such  ceremonies  may  be  helpless  formalities,  but  they  may 
be  spiritual  realities,  helpful  expressions  for  devout  and  sincere  souls. 

Job  seems  to  have  allowed  the  period  of  cheerful  feasting  to  pass, 
and  then  he  sent  for  his  children,  made  them  perform  certain  cere- 
monial ablutions,  and  then  join  in  a  united  service.  The  burnt- 
offering  was  the  only  form  of  sacrifice  known  to  the  patriarchs.  *  The 
whole  victim  was  consumed  by  fire,  a  perfect  holocaust,  representing 
the  absolute  right  of  God  over  His  creatures,  and  the  absolute  sur- 
render of  the  creature's  self.  The  original  word  means  "  ascending 
offering  " ;  the  victim  went  up,  so  to  speak,  to  heaven  in  flame  and 
smoke/ 

Matthew  Henry  deals  with  this  subject  quaintly  but  suggestively. 
'  He  sent  to  them  to  prepare  for  solemn  ordinances,  "  sent  and 
sanctified  them,"  ordered  them  to  examine  their  own  consciences,  and 
repent  of  what  they  had  done  amiss  in  their  feasting,  to  lay  aside 
their  vanity,  and  compose  themselves  for  religious  exercises.  Thus 
he  kept  his  authority  over  them  for  their  good,  and  they  submitted 
to  it,  though  they  had  got  houses  of  their  own.  He  offered  sacrifice 
for  them,  both  to  atone  for  the  sins  he  feared  they  had  been  guilty  of 
in  the  days  of  their  feasting,  and  to  implore  for  them  mercy  to 
pardon,  and  grace  to  prevent  the  debauching  of  their  minds,  and 
corrupting  of  their  manners  by  the  liberty  they  had  taken,  and  to 
preserve  their  piety  and  purity/ 


316      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


The  Cruelty  of  the  Executions  at   Rabbah. 

2  SAMUEL  xii.  31  :  'He  brought  forth  the  people  that  were  therein,  and  put 
them  under  saws,  and  under  harrows  of  iron,  and  under  axes  of  iron,  and  made 
them  pass  through  the  brick-kiln  ;  and  thus  did  he  unto  all  the  cities  of  the 
children  of  Ammon.' 

Difficulty. —  Unless  such  horrible  cruelty  can  be  relieved  by  explana- 
tions, it  gives  a  very  painful  impression  of  David's  character. 

Explanation. — Dr.  dimming  makes  a  correction  in  the  trans- 
lation which  we  should  be  very  glad  if  we  could  accept,  but  the 
severe  customs  of  ancient  times  encourage  the  sterner  view  of  these 
transactions.  He  says  :  *  The  Hebrew  word  beth,  which  is  here  trans- 
lated "  under,"  does  not  mean  under  (that  is,  placed  beneath),  but 
means  /0(in  the  sense  in  which  we  say,  in  ordinary  language,  "'I  put 
him  to  the  plough ") ;  the  literal  meaning  is  that  he  put  them  to 
saws,  and  to  harrows,  and  to  axes,  and  to  the  making  of  bricks — that 
he  made  them  perpetual  working  slaves.  There  is  no  warrant  what- 
ever for  the  construction  that  he  destroyed  them  by  saws,  and  harrows, 
and  axes,  or  inhumanly  forced  them  into  the  furnace  of  the  brick- 
kiln. He  simply  set  them  to  a  laborious  drudgery.* 

Kitto  wishes  he  could  accept  this  relief  of  the  story.  But  he 
thinks  it  has  very  little  real  foundation.  *  It  does  much  violence  to 
the  Hebrew  words,  which  it  takes  in  an  unusual  and  previously 
unimagined  acceptation.  Some  of  the  alleged  labours  are  also 
unsuited  to  the  age  and  country  or  the  people.  Firewood,  for 
instance,  is  so  scarce  in  Palestine,  that  the  people  of  so  many  cities 
could  not  have  found  employment  as  hewers  and  sawers  of  wood  ; 
and  the  only  public  want  in  this  respect,  that  of  the  tabernacle  and 
its  altar,  was  already  provided  for  by  the  services  of  the  Gibeonites  ; 
while  the  people  generally  used  stubble  and  dried  dung  for  fuel. 
Then,  for  building,  stone  has  always  been  more  used  than  brick  in 
Palestine,  and  it  is,  therefore,  marvellous  that  the  more  laborious 
work  of  quarrying  stone  is  not  named,  if  penal  labours  were  really 
intended ;  and  as  to  iron  mines,  there  is  not  the  least  evidence  that 
any  were  ever  worked  in  the  territories  over  which  David  had  sway. 

'  Besides,  if  David  thus  dealt  with  the  Ammonites,  he  would  have 
been  far  less  severe  to  them  than  the  war  law  of  the  age  authorized, 
and  far  less  so  than  to  the  Moabites  and  Edomites,  of  whom  a  large 
proportion  of  the  males  in  the  one  case,  and  all  who  could  be  caught 
in  the  other,  were  destroyed.  And  is  this  credible  in  regard  to  a 
people  the  aggravation  of  whose  conduct  had  been  so  much  greater? 
'  Putting  captives  to  death  by  torture  was  not  a  war  custom  of  the 


CRUELTY  OF  THE  EXECUTIONS  AT  RABBAH.  317 

Hebrews,  whose  legislation  is  remarkable  beyond  that  of  any  other 
people  for  the  absence  of  torturing  punishments.'  Kitto  thinks,  there- 
fore, that  these  punishments  were  retaliatory  for  similar  treatment  of 
Jewish  and  other  prisoners  who  had  been  taken  by  the  Ammonites. 
He  cites  the  case  of  Adoni  bezek,  which  has  a  distinct  bearing  upon 
this,  because  it  shows  that  '  the  Hebrews  were  accustomed  to  deal 
out  to  their  enemies  the  same  measures  which  they  received  from 
them.  And  this  was  quite  necessary,  it  being  the  only  way  in  which 
other  nations  could  coerce  such  offenders  into  an  adherence  to  the 
established  usages  of  war.' 

It  may  be  added  that  David  is  not  personally  responsible — only 
governmentally  responsible — for  actions  done  by  his  generals  and 
soldiers  in  the  time  of  siege.  David  should  only  be  officially  con- 
nected with  a  matter  which  was,  in  all  probability,  done  before  he 
knew  anything  about  it.  We  must  never  forget  that  in  all  these  war 
movements  of  David's  reign,  Joab  was  the  leading,  masterful  spirit, 
and  such  deaths  by  torture  suit  his  nature  better  than  David's. 

Accursed  Thing. 

JOSHUA  vi.  17:  'And  the  city  shall  be  accursed,  even  it,  and  all  that  are 
therein,  to  the  Lord.  Rev.  Ver.  :  '  devoted.' 

Difficulty. —  Unless  some  custom  or  sentiment  of  the  age  is  found  to 
relieve  the  severity  of  this  judgment %  it  must  seem  to  us  inexplicable,  and 
beyond  what  the  occasion  demanded. 

Explanation. — The  word  'accursed'  is  likely  to  convey  a  wrong 
impression.  It  would  be  better  to  read  *  devoted,'  and  associate  the 
word  with  the  offering  of  first-fruits  as  sacrifice  to  God,  and  solemn 
acknowledgment  that  all  was  recognised  as  His.  Josephus  helps  us 
to  the  right  idea  of  this  devotement  when  he  says,  *  Joshua  com- 
manded the  Israelites  to  reserve  the  silver  and  gold  of  Jericho,  the 
first  city  taken  by  them,  as  the  first-fruits  of  their  successes,  to  God.' 
Inverse  19  the  metal  spoil  is  spoken  of  as  'consecrated  unto  the 
Lord';  but  the  fact  is,  that  all  Jericho  was  consecrated  to  the  Lord — 
some  of  it  by  being  destroyed,  sent  to  Him  on  the  wings  of  fire ;  and 
some  of  it  by  being  reserved  for  use  in  the  Lord's  tabernacle. 

Kitto  so  fully  meets  the  difficulty  as  it  is  stated  above,  that  his 
entire  passage  may  be  given  :  '  It  has  seemed  to  some  rather  a  severe 
exaction  that  the  soldiers  should  have  been  forbidden,  under  the 
severest  penalties,  from  appropriating  to  themselves  the  least  benefit 
from  the  spoil  of  this  wealthy  city  But  there  may  be  seen  many 
reasons  for  it  The  principal  seems  to  have  been  to  impress  upon 


3i8      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

them  in  the  most  lively  manner  the  fact  that  the  conquest  of  the  city 
was  ijot  in  any  respect  due  to  the  power  of  their  arms,  and  that  there- 
fore they  had  no  right  to  any  portion  of  the  spoil.  Nothing  was  so 
well  calculated  as  this  privation  to  remind  them  to  whom  alone  this 
important  conquest  was  due.  It  was  also  a  prudential  measure.  On 
the  one  hand,  it  tried  the  obedience  of  the  people — and,  all  things 
considered,  it  is  certainly  a  wonderful  instance  of  the  religious  and 
military  discipline  of  the  troops,  that  an  order  of  this  stringent  nature 
was  so  well  obeyed ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  would  have  been 
inexpedient  to  allow  the  soldiers  at  the  outset  to  glut  themselves  with 
the  spoils  of  a  rich  city,  whereby  they  would  have  been  more  disposed 
for  luxury  and  idleness  than  for  the  severe  labours  which  lay  before 
them  in  the  martial  conquest  of  Canaan.  The  city  had  also  been 
won  without  the  exhausting  toils  or  feats  of  valour  which  might  seem 
to  demand  such  recompense.  It  may  be  added  that  it  has  been  at 
all  times  usual  in  military  operations  to  deal  severely  with  the  first 
town  taken  by  storm,  the  garrison  of  which  has  held  out  to  the  last,  in 
order  to  strike  such  a  dread  into  the  people  as  may  facilitate  further 
conquest,  or  induce  submission  in  order  to  avoid  a  similar  doom. 
Upon  the  whole,  Jericho  was  to  be  regarded  as  the  first-fruits  of 
conquest,  and  as  such  was  to  be  offered  up  to  the  Lord  as  a  burnt- 
offering.' 

Mr.  W.  H.  Grvserhas  some  useful  remarks  concerning  this  'ban.' 
'  There  is  a  remarkable  provision  in  the  Mosaic  law  (first  mentioned 
abruptly,  as  a  thing  well  known),  that  when  persons  or  property  had 
been  devoted  by  a  solemn  vow  to  God,  there  could  be  no  redemption 
of  them  by  a  gift  to  the  sanctuary,  as  in  other  cases.  They  became 
cherem,  or  anathema,  "  devoted ":  if  persons,  they  were  to  be  slain ; 
if  property,  given  to  the  sanctuary.  Thus  Jonathan  narrowly  escaped 
being  made  cherem,  through  his  father's  rash  vow  ;  bwt  doubtless  such 
cases  were  extremely  rare.  It  was  permitted,  however,  to  "devote" 
an  enemy's  city  by  such  a  vow ;  and  this  occurred  in  the  war  with  the 
Canaanite  King  of  Arad  in  the  time  of  Moses.  Now  it  is  remarkable 
that  no  command  to  put  human  beings  under  the  ban  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Mosaic  law,  except  for  deliberate  idolatry  on  the  part  of  an 
individual  Israelite,  or  the  inhabitants  of  an  Israelitisn  city. 


LOTS  FOR  COLLECTING   WOOD  FOR  OFFERING.  319 
Lots  for  collecting  the  Wood  for  Offering. 

NEHEMIAH  x.  34 :  *  And  we  cast  the  lots  among  the  priests,  the  Levites,  and 
the  people,  for  the  wood  offering,  to  bring  it  into  the  house  of  our  God,  after  the 
houses  of  our  fathers,  at  times  appointed  year  by  year,  to  burn  upon  the  altar  of 
the  Lord  our  God,  as  it  is  written  in  the  law.' 

Question. —  Was  this  a  revival  of  some  old  custom,  or  the  necessity 
of  some  new  and  peculiar  circumstances  t 

Answer. — It  seems  that  it  had  been  made  the  duty  of  the 
Gibeonites  to  provide  the  wood  that  was  required  for  the  Temple 
service ;  but  in  the  restored  company  of  exiles  it  was  nobody's  duty, 
or  rather  everybody's.  Some  arrangement,  therefore,  was  necessary, 
to  ensure  that  the  duty  was  performed  by  somebody. 

The  note  in  the  Speaker's  Commentary  gives  all  that  need  be  said 
on  this  subject :  '  No  special  provision  was  made  by  the  law  for  the 
supply  of  wood  necessary  to  keep  fire  ever  burning  upon  the  altar ; 
nor  do  David  or  Solomon  appear  to  have  instituted  any  definite 
regulations  on  the  subject.  It  remained  for  Nehemiah  to  establish 
a  system  by  which  the  duty  of  supplying  wood  should  be  laid  as  a 
burthen  in  turn  on  the  various  clans  or  families  which  were  regarded 
as  constituting  the  nation.  The  lot  was  used  to  determine  the  order 
in  which  the  several  families  should  perform  the  duty.  A  special  day 
(the  1 4th  of  the  fifth  month,  according  to  Josephus)  was  appointed 
for  the  bringing  in  of  supplies ;  this  day  was  after  a  time  regarded  as 
a  high  festival,  and  called  the  "  Feast  of  the  Wood  Offering."' 

Night  Customs  in  Eastern  Encampments. 

JUDGES  vii.  II,  12:  'Then  went  he  down  with  Phurah  his  servant  unto  the 
outermost  part  of  the  armed  men  that  were  in  the  camp.  And  the  Midianites 
and  the  Amalekites  and  all  the  children  of  the  East  lay  along  in  the  valley  like 
locusts  for  multitude  ;  and  their  camels  were  without  number,  as  the  sand  which 
is  upon  the  seashore  for  multitude  '  (Rev.  Ver.}. 

Difficulty. — //  is  very  strange  to  find  a  host  like  this,  in  a  hostile 
country ',  making  no  sort  of  provision  for  sudden  attacks,  by  appointing 
outposts  and  sentinels. 

Explanation. — We  must  carefully  distinguish  between  the 
orderly  invasion  of  a  country  by  an  organized  army,  and  the  swarm- 
ing of  a  large  collection  of  nomad  tribes  into  a  fertile  territory 
about  harvest-time.  The  invasion  of  Israel  by  the  united  Midianites 
and  Amalekites  was  an  overwhelming  rush  of  whole  tribes  into  the 
land,  eating  up  everything,  as  would  a  plague  of  locusts.  Each 
tribe,  and  division  of  tribe,  would  have  its  armed  men,  its  trained 


320     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

fighting  men ;  but  the  great  mass  of  the  people  were  camp-followers, 
a  class  specially  liable  to  sudden  panic. 

Canon  Farrar  says  :  '  The  invasions  of  these  Arab  tribes  were  of 
the  most  crushing  and  irritating  kind.  Living  in  idleness  and 
marauding  expeditions,  they  let  the  Israelites  sow  their  corn,  and 
came  themselves  to  reap  and  carry  it  away.  Alyattes,  King  of 
Lydia,  treated  the  people  of  Miletus  in  exactly  the  same  way. 
leaving  their  houses  undestroyed,  solely  that  they  might  be  tempted 
to  return  to  them,  and  plough  and  sow  once  more.  The  same  thing 
goes  on  to  this  day.  The  wretched  Fellahin,  neglected  and  oppressed 
by  the  effete  and  corrupt  Turkish  Government,  sow  their  corn,  with 
the  constant  dread  that  they  are  but  sowing  it  for  the  Bedouin,  who 
yearly  plunder  them,  unrepressed  and  unpunished.' 

There  is  a  strong  Eastern  superstition  against  night  attacks,  and 
even  against  travelling  by  night.  Guides  hasten  the  parties  they 
are  conducting,  so  that  they  may  gain  shelter  before  the  darkness 
comes  on.  This  common  feeling  gives  a  kind  of  security,  so  that 
sentinels,  or  outposts,  are  not  thought  to  be  necessary.  Camps  are 
formed  with  the  non-combatants  in  the  centre,  and  the  armed  men 
on  the  outskirts,  and  this  is  regarded  as  sufficient ;  but  except  in 
cases  of  actual  danger,  when  an  opposing  force  was  known  to  be 
near,  even  this  precaution  would  not  be  taken.  Probably,  also,  the 
very  vastness  of  this  host,  which  was  really  its  danger,  was  thought 
to  constitute  an  impregnable  strength. 

The  only  hint  of  special  protection  in  this  case  is  found  in  the 
expression  used  in  verse  n,  'unto  the  outside  of  the  armed  men  that 
were  in  the  host.'  The  Revised  Version  renders  (as  given  above), 
'  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  armed  men  that  were  in  the  camp/ 
The  Speakers  Commentary  says  the  meaning  is  uncertain,  but  the 
most  probable  is  *  arranged  in  divisions,'  marching  or  camping  in 
companies.  'The  armed  men  seem  to  have  been  encamped 
together,  in  one  part  of  the  camp,  that  nearest  to  the  hostile  army  of 
Gideon.'  Lange  translates,  '  As  far  as  the  line  (limit)  of  the  van- 
guard to  the  camp.'  He  compares  the  two  and  a  half  tribes  who 
marched  in  the  vanguard  of  the  Israelite  army,  and  says  that  '  to 
the  same  class  of  soldiery  belonged  the  chamusim  (armed  men),  to 
whom  Gideon  approached.  They  formed  the  outer  rim  of  the 
encampment.' 

Leslie  Porter,  in  his  Handbook  for  Palestine,  describes  such  a 
host  as  this  of  Midian,  only  on  a  smaller  scale,  seen  by  him  in  the 
spring  of  1857,  when  the  Bedouin  sheik,  Akeil  Agha,  assembled  his 
men  in  Esdraelon,  after  the  massacre  of  the  Kurds  at  Hattin,  to 


ABSALOM'S  PILLAR.  321 

divide  the  plunder.  'They  spread  over  the  plain,  countless  as 
locusts ;  their  camels  beyond  number,  like  the  sands  on  the  sea- 
shore. When  I  looked  at  the  wild  and  fierce  crowds  of  this  dis- 
orderly army — on  the  spoils  and  booty — it  seemed  as  if  I  had 
before  me  the  very  spectacle  of  the  great  invasion  of  the  Midianites 
in  the  days  of  Gideon.' 

Absalom's  Pillar. 

2  SAMUEL  xviii.  18  :  '  Now  Absalom  in  his  life  time  had  taken  and  reared  up  for 
himself  the  pillar,  which  is  in  the  King's  dale  :  for  he  said,  I  have  no  son  to  keep 
my  name  in  remembrance,  and  he  called  the  pillar  after  his  own  name  ;  and  it  is 
called  Absalom's  monument,  unto  this  day.'  Rev.  Ver. :  '  Absalom's  place.' 

Difficulty. —  We  have  no  other  case  of  men's  thus  raising  monu- 
ments to  themselves,  and  we  cannot  but  be  suspicious  that  such  a  thing 
would  hardly  have  been  allowed  in  David's  time. 

Explanation. — There  is  a  monument  called  Absalom's,  still  to 
be  seen  in  the  ravine  of  the  Kedron,  but  it  is  quite  a  modern 
erection,  and  can  bear  no  relation  whatever  to  the  time  of  Absalom. 
It  is,  however,  possible  that  it  occupies  the  position  of  the  earlier 
monument,  though  the  King's  Dale  is  identified  with  the  Valley  of 
Shaveh  (Gen.  xiv.  17),  which  was  in  the  near  neighbourhood  of 
Sodom.  Josephus  tells  us  that  the  pillar  was  a  marble  one ;  he  fixes 
its  distance  at  two  furlongs  from  Jerusalem,  but  he  does  not  say 
trom  what  part  of  Jerusalem  the  measurement  was  made  j  and  he 
also  says  that  it  was  named  *  Absalom's  Hand.' 

Buckingham  thus  describes  the  existing  monument :  '  On  the  east, 
we  came  to  the  reputed  tomb  of  Absalom,  resembling  nearly,  in  the 
size,  form,  and  decoration  of  its  square  base,  that  of  Zacharias , 
except  that  it  is  sculptured  with  the  metopes  and  triglyphs  of  the 
Doric  order.  This  is  surmounted  by  a  sharp  conical  dome,  of  the 
form  used  in  our  modern  parasols,  having  large  mouldings,  re- 
sembling ropes,  running  round  its  base,  and  on  the  summit  some- 
thing like  an  imitation  of  flame.  The  dome  is  of  masonry,  and  on 
the  eastern  side  there  is  a  square  aperture  in  it.' 

It  was  quite  usual  to  raise  cairns  of  stone,  or  single  stones,  as 
memorials  of  great  events  or  important  victories,  but  the  only 
approach  to  a  personal  memorial  of  such  a  kind  is  found  in  the  self 
glorying  of  King  Saul,  who,  on  his  return  from  the  partial  slaughter 
of  the  Amalekites,  is  said  to  have  '  set  him  up  a  place/  that  is,  a 
monument,  or  trophy.  But  this  is  quite  distinct  from  raising  a  pillar 
for  the  sake  of  perpetuating  a  man's  name. 

In  those  times,  and  down  to  recent  times,  it  has  been  quite  usual 

21 


322      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

for  rich  and  great  persons  to  prepare  before  their  death  their  own 
tombs  and  sepulchres.  These  were  usually  natural  or  artificial  caves 
in  the  rocks,  but  they  were  sometimes  separate  erections  which 
should  contain  their  bodies,  and  be  conspicuous  as  their  memorials. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  Absalom's  pillar  was  a  tomb,  with  a 
raised  building,  of  handsome  proportions  and  decorations,  above  it ; 
and  his  hope  was  that  he  might  be  buried  there  in  state  as  the 
'  beautiful  prince,'  and  with  the  aid  of  such  a  monument,  ever- 
lastingly remembered.  The  fact  is  called  to  mind,  in  the  Scripture 
history,  to  point  the  moral  that  '  man  proposes,  but  God  disposes,' 
and  to  set  in  sharp  contrast  the  actual  fate  of  the  prince,  killed  as  he 
hung  in  a  tree,  cast  into  a  pit  in  a  wood,  and  covered  with  the  stones 
of  execration.  '  His  real  monument  was  a  solitary  cairn  in  the  wild 
forest,  instead  of  a  lordly  pillar  in  the  "  King's  Dale,"  near  the 
capital  city.' 

Passing  through  the  Fire. 

2  KINGS  xvi.  3  :  '  But  he  walked  in  the  way  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  yea,  and 
made  his  son  to  pass  through  the  fire,  according  to  the  abominations  of  the 
heathen,  whom  the  Lord  cast  out  from  before  the  children  of  Israel.' 

Question. —  Was  this  only  a  ceremony  of  lustration  by  fire,  or 
should  we  understand  that  the  young  prince  was  sacrificed1} 

Answer. — The  corresponding  account  in  2  Chron.  xxviii.  3  sup- 
ports the  idea  that  the  son,  or  sons,  were  actually  sacrificed.  There 
ihe  expression  used  is.  '  And  burnt  his  children  in  the  fire.' 

The  idol  Moloch  is  said  by  the  Rabbins  to  have  been  made  of 
brass,  and  its  throne  also  of  brass ;  its  head  was  that  of  a  calf,  and 
wore  a  royal  crown  ;  its  stomach  was  a  furnace,  and  when  the  chil- 
dren were  placed  in  its  arms  they  were  consumed  by  the  fierce  heat, 
their  cries  being  drowned  by  the  beating  of  drums ;  from  which  (toph 
meaning  a  drum)  the  place  of  the  burning  was  called  Tophet. 

It  is  also  affirmed  that  the  hands  of  the  idol  were  made  hot,  and 
the  children  were  passed  between  them,  which  was  considered  a  form 
of  lustration.  Probably  both  views  are  true  to  the  facts.  On  ordinary 
occasions  the  rite  may  have  been  one  of  simple  lustration,  but  in 
times  of  extreme  pressure  the  children  may  have  been  actually  sacri- 
ficed. 

Compare  other  Scripture  references,  as  2  Kings  xvii.  3 1 ;  Jer.  xix.  5 ; 
Ezek.  xvi.  20,  xxiii.  37 ;  Jer.  xxxii.  35.  Possibly,  the  children  were 
not  burnt  alive,  but  first  put  to  death ;  their  bodies  being  then  burnt. 
Very  definite  and  trustworthy  information  concerning  the  old  custom 
does  not  seem  to  be  at  command. 


PASSING  TH1. 0  UGH  THE  FIRE.  3  2  3 

Moloch  is  best  regarded  as  one  of  the  forms  of  Baal,  the  Sun-god, 
to  whom,  in  Carthage  and  Numidia,  children  were  immolated. 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  says  :  '  The  fact  which  seems  to  be 
certain  is,  that  Ahaz  adopted  the  Moloch-worship  of  the  Ammonites 
and  Moabites,  and  sacrificed  at  least  one  son,  probably  his  first-born, 
according  to  the  horrid  rites  of  those  nations.  A  king  of  Moab  had 
once  done  the  same  when  he  found  himself  in  a  sore  strait  (2  Kings 
iii.  27).  Another  had  expressed  his  willingness  so  to  appease  his 
god  (Mic.  vi.  7).  Hitherto,  apparently,  the  Jews  had  been  guiltless 
of  the  abomination.  Now,  however,  as  the  time  of  more  searching 
trial  approached,  as  dangers  thickened,  and  the  national  existence 
was  seen  to  be  in  peril,  the  awful  rite  seems  to  have  exercised  a  fatal 
fascination  upon  them.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  cause  of  its 
sudden  appearance,  and  great  prevalence  from  the  time  of  Ahaz  to 
the  close  of  the  Jewish  kingdom,  is  to  be  found  in  the  influence  of 
Assyria,  which  now  first  came  to  be  much  felt  in  Palestine.  But 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  Assyrians  had  any  such  custom  as  that 
here  in  question,  or  any  human  sacrifices  at  all.  They  had  no  god 
Moloch,  although  of  course  almost  any  god  might  bear  the  title  of 
Melech  (king).  Moloch  in  Scripture  is  always  connected  with  Ammon  ; 
and  there  seems  to  be  no  real  ground  for  doubting  that  it  was  from 
this  quarter — from  Ammon  and  Moab — that  the  Jews  and  Israelites 
of  the  period  to  which  we  are  now  come  adopted  the  practice  of 
"  causing  their  children  to  pass  through  the  fire."  ' 


Idolatrous  Kissing  the  Hand. 

JOB  xxxi.  27  :  '  And  my  heart  hath  been  secretly  enticed,  and  my  mouth  hath 
kissed  my  hand.'  Hebrew:  '  My  hand  hath  kissed  my  mouth.' 

Question. — Does  this  refer  to  some  peculiar  movement  or  action 
iharacteristic  of  certain  idol-worshippers,  and  somewhat  resembling  a 
masonic  sign  ? 

Answer. — Delitzsch  gives  a  translation  which  makes  the  action 
much  more  intelligible  to  us — *  I  threw  them  a  kiss  by  my  hand/  It 
appears  that  in  heathen  worshipping  they  used  to  kiss  the  hand,  and 
then  throw  the  kiss,  as  it  were,  towards  the  object  of  worship  (i  Kings 
xix.  18 ;  Hos.  xiii.  2).  The  practice  was  probably  adopted  because 
the  idol-figures  were  set  up  on  high,  out  of  actual  reach.  This  '  kissing 
the  hand '  as  a  token  of  admiration  and  worship  was  an  early  and 
common  practice  in  Syria. 

The  following  note  is  given  in  Biblical  Things  not  Generally 
Known,  without  intimation  of  its  authorship  :  '  This  passage  is  an 

21 2 


324      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

obscure  and  difficult  one,  on  which  only  some  side-lights  can  be 
thrown.  The  act  may  have  been  one  of  worship  offered  to  some  deity, 
or  the  hand  itself  may  have  been  the  object  of  worship,  and  we  are  not 
without  indications  of  such  a  practice.  The  "  Talmud  "  asserts  that 
the  hand  and  the  foot  were  both  regarded  as  objects  of  worship.  It 
says  that  a  broken  piece  of  an  idol  is  not  to  be  considered  an  idol  in 
itself,  since  it  may  be  put  to  some  useful  purpose  :  if  it  be  made  of 
metal,  it  may  be  melted  down ;  and  if  of  earthenware,  it  may  be 
broken  up  and  used  again.  But  the  hand  and  the  foot,  being  objects 
of  worship  in  themselves  alone,  whether  they  are  broken  from  statues 
or  not,  are  unclean,  and  must  not  be  touched. 

'  There  is  a  curious  relic  of  hand-worship  still  preserved  in  Jeru- 
salem, a  rough  representation  of  a  hand  being  always  made  by  the 
native  masons  on  the  wall  of  a  house  in  the  course  of  erection.  This 
hand-print  is  made  in  order  to  avert  the  "  evil-eye."  The  Jews  also 
take  care  to  make  the  same  mark  on  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  ex- 
terior of  their  houses  just  before  a  marriage,  a  birth,  or  any  other 
festival.  At  Jerusalem  a  sign  resembling  a  double  arrow  is  frequently 
used  instead  of  the  hand,  the  Jews  saying  that  it  is  a  symbol  of  the 
five  names  of  God,  as  are  also  the  five  fingers ;  and  either  symbol 
will  ward  off  evil  from  the  place  on  which  it  is  imprinted. 

1  The  cornice  of  a  cistern  near  Petra,  in  Arabia,  was  found  not  long 
since,  to  be  decorated  with  hands  printed  in  black  and  red  alter- 
nately. At  the  present  day  both  Jews  and  Mohammedans  hang 
round  their  children's  necks  hands  rudely  cut  out  of  thin  plates  of 
silver  and  gold ;  and  this  is  done  as  a  charm  against  the  "  evil-eye." 
In  Italy  the  first  and  last  fingers  of  the  hand  are  used  for  the  same 
purpose.' 

Paxton  thinks  that  to  kiss  the  hand  and  place  it  on  the  head  is  a 
token  of  respect  less  revolting  to  our  minds  than  some  that  might  be 
mentioned.  He  says  :  '  An  Oriental  pays  his  respects  to  a  person  of 
superior  station  by  kissing  his  hand  and  putting  it  to  his  forehead ; 
but  if  the  superior  be  of  a  condescending  temper,  he  will  snatch  away 
his  hand  as  soon  as  the  other  has  touched  it ;  then  the  inferior  puts 
his  own  fingers  to  his  lips,  and  afterwards  to  his  forehead.  It  seems, 
according  to  Pitts,  to  be  a  common  practice  among  the  Moham- 
medans, that  when  they  cannot  kiss  the  hand  of  a  superior,  they  kiss 
their  own,  and  put  it  to  their  forehead ;  thus  also  they  venerate  an 
unseen  being  whom  they  cannot  touch.  But  the  custom  existed  long 
before  the  age  of  Mohammed;  for  in  the  same  way  the  ancient 
idolaters  worshipped  their  distant  or  unseen  deities.  Had  Job  thus 
"  kissed  his  hand/'  in  the  case  to  which  he  refers,  it  would  have  been 


EASTERN  SENTIMENTS  ABOUT  MAD  PEOPLE.  325 

an  idolatrous  action,  although  it  is  exactly  agreeable  to  the  civil  ex- 
pressions of  respect  which  obtained  in  his  country,  all  over  the 
East.' 

Eastern  Sentiments  concerning  Mad  People. 

I  SAMUEL  xxi.  15  :  'Have  I  need  of  madmen '  (Rev.  Ver. :  'Do  I  lack  mad- 
men '),  '  that  ye  have  brought  this  fellow  to  play  the  madman  in  my  presence  ? 
Shall  this  fellow  come  into  my  house  ?' 

Difficulty. — How  would  feigning  himself  a  madman  give  David 
security  in  his  time  of  peril  1  With  us  it  would  involve  his  being 
rigorously  confined. 

Explanation. — David  found  his  life  in  peril  among  the  Philis- 
tines, and  adopted  a  device  which  depended  for  its  success  on  a  pre- 
vailing sentiment  of  Eastern  people.  Easterns  have  ideas  of  spirit- 
possessions,  devil-possessions,  which  to  us  seem  absurd.  Things 
which  we  regard  as  diseases,  such  as  epilepsy,  hysteria,  lunacy, 
delirium  tremens,  etc.,  they  regard  as  due  to  the  presence  of  bad 
spirits  in  the  sufferers,  and  they  have  a  sort  of  respect  for  these  bad 
spirits,  and  fear  to  touch  or  injure  them,  lest  they  should  take 
revenge  and  afflict  the  injurer  by  transferring  their  presence.  All 
sufferers  of  this  class  are  therefore  let  alone. 

David  took  advantage  of  this  common  sentiment.  He  knew  he 
would  be  free  to  go  where  he  pleased  if  the  people  took  up  the  idea 
that  he  was  mad.  'No  one  would  touch  a  demented  man,  for 
insanity  was  held  in  antiquity,  as  it  still  is  in  the  East,  in  some  way, 
a  divine  possession.' 

Dr.  Porter  says  that  *  many  of  the  dervishes  in  the  East  act  in  the 
same  way  at  present,  and  are  venerated  as  saints  by  an  ignorant  and 
superstitious  people.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  Akeil  Aga,  a  notorious 
Arab  sheikh  still  living,  when  seized  and  imprisoned  by  the  Governor 
of  Acre,  escaped  as  David  did,  pretending  to  be  a  madman.' 

Kitto  has  the  following  good  note  :  '  David  "  feigned  himself 
mad,"  or  perhaps  to  fall  into  a  fit  of  epilepsy,  which  was  in  ancient 
times  regarded  as  a  form  of  madness.  This  character  he  acted  to 
such  disgusting  perfection,  that  the  court  had  no  doubt  of  the  reality 
of  his  affliction.  He  not  only  "  scribbled  upon  the  wall,"  but  let  his 
slaver  fall  down  upon  his  beard.  This  last  was  convincing.  Con 
sidering  the  regard  in  which  the  beard  is  held,  the  care  taken  of 
it,  and  the  solicitude  of  the  owner  to  protect  it  from  insult  and 
pollution,  who  could  possibly  doubt  the  abject  and  absolute  madness 
of  the  man  who  thus  defiled  his  own  beard  ?  On  the  other  hand,  a 
sort  of  respect  for  the  persons  thus  afflicted,  as  if  they  were  under 


326      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

some  kind  of  supernatural  influence,  has  always  existed,  and  does 
now  exist,  in  the  East ;  so  that  David  knew  that  his  personal  safety, 
and  even  his  freedom,  were  guaranteed  by  the  belief  in  his  madness. 
Such  was  the  case.  The  king  was  not,  perhaps,  sorry  to  be  thus 
relieved  from  the  difficulty  which  he  saw  to  be  gathering  round  the 
question.  He  therefore  turned,  in  seeming  or  real  wrath,  to  his 
servants,  rebuking  them  for  admitting  a  madman  into  his  presence.' 

Kitto  adds  that  '  the  Jewish  writers  think  there  was  more  emphasis 
than  we  are  aware  of  in  Achish's  asking  if  he  had  need  of  madmen. 
They  tell  us  that  the  king's  wife  and  daughter  were  both  mad,  and 
that  while  David  was  simulating  madness  without,  they  were  exhibit- 
ing the  reality  within,  so  that  poor  Achish  might  well  think  he  had 
already  quite  enough  of  this.' 

*  It  has  been  cleverly  suggested  that  David  was  only  too  well 
acquainted  with  all  the  signs  of  madness,  from  his  long  and  intimate 
association  with  King  Saul  in  his  darker  hours  of  insanity.' — Canon 
Spence. 

Night  Hospitalities  in  the  East. 

JUDGES  xix.  18,  19  :  '  There  is  no  man  that  taketh  me  into  his  house.  Yet 
there  is  both  straw  and  provender  for  our  asses ;  and  there  is  bread  and  wine  also 
for  me,  and  for  thy  handmaid,  and  for  the  young  man  that  is  with  thy  servants  : 
there  is  no  want  of  anything.' 

Question. —  What  prevailing  conditions  or  sentiments  led  to  so 
strange  a  limitation  of  hospitality  ? 

Answer. — It  is  very  probable  that  the  incidents  of  the  last  five 
chapters  of  the  Book  of  Judges  are  not  narrated  in  their  chrono- 
logical order.  They  belong  to  the  earlier  period  of  the  time  of  the 
Judges,  and  present  to  us  illustrations  'of  the  loose  condition  of 
society  during  the  anarchical  period  which  intervened  between  the 
death  of  the  elders  who  outlived  Joshua  and  the  government  of 
Othniel.' 

Kitto  explains  precisely  what  occurred  :  '  Gibeah  stood  upon  a 
low,  conical,  or  rather  round  eminence,  about  five  miles  north  by 
east  from  Jerusalem.  By  the  time  the  party  got  near  this  the  sun 
went  down,  and  the  Levite  concluded  to  turn  in  there.  As  he  had 
no  acquaintance  in  the  place,  and  there  seems  to  have  been  no 
lodging  place  or  khan  to  which  he  could  repair,  he  tarried,  as  the 
custom  was,  in  the  street,  sure  that  some  one  would  soon  invite  him 
to  his  house.  We  do  not  think  there  is  any  charge  against  the  men 
of  Gibeah  on  this  account  merely,  for  no  one  could  receive  him  till 
it  was  known  that  he  wanted  reception,  and  this  was  the  proper  mode 


NIGHT  HOSPITALITIES  IN  THE  EAST.        327 

of  making  his  want  known.  The  same  practice  still  exists  in  the 
East  under  the  like  circumstances,  and  it  is  not  long  that  anyone 
has  to  wait  before  entertainment  is  offered  to  him.  But  in  this  vile 
piace  it  is  expressly  stated  that  "  no  man  invited  him  to  his  house," 
and  he  was  left  waiting  in  the  street,  until  at  last  an  old  man,  who 
was  also  of  Mount  Ephraim,  and  who  very  possibly  recognised  the 
Levite,  saw  the  party  as  he  returned  from  his  work  in  the  fields,  and 

invited  them  to  his  humble  dwelling The  gross  neglect  of  the 

duties  of  hospitality  must  have  given  the  Levite  some  misgiving  as  to 
the  character  of  the  place,  seeing  how  highly  these  duties  are  estimated 
in  the  East,  and  seeing  that  his  Levitical  character  gave  him  a  more 
than  common  claim  to  kind  and  generous  entertainment.' 

Jamieson  says :  *  The  towns  in  Palestine  at  this  remote  period 
could  not,  it  seems,  furnish  any  establishment  in  the  shape  of  an  inn 
or  public  lodging-house ;  and  hence  we  conclude  that  the  custom, 
which  is  still  frequently  witnessed  in  the  cities  of  the  East,  was  then 
not  uncommon,  for  travellers  who  were  late  in  arriving,  and  who  had 
no  introduction  to  a  private  family,  to  spread  their  bedding  in  the 
streets,  or,  wrapping  themselves  up  in  their  cloaks,  pass  the  night  in 
the  open  air.  In  the  Arab  towns  and  villages,  however,  the  sheikh, 
or  some  other  person,  usually  comes  out  and  urgently  invites  the 
strangers  to  his  house.  This  was  done  also  in  ancient  Palestine 
(Gen.  xviii.  4,  xix.  2),  and  that  the  same  hospitality  was  not  shown 
in  Gibeah,  seems  to  have  been  owing  to  the  bad  character  of  the 
people.' 

It  is  clear  that  the  same  vices  prevailed  in  this  town  as  in  Sodom 
in  the  older  time ;  and  these  vices  were  utterly  destructive  of  social 
order  and  family  life.  Probably  these  pictures  of  rioting  and  unre- 
strained wickedness  are  given  in  the  Scripture  to  prepare  us  for  the 
great  change  from  a  pure  theocracy  to  that  of  an  orderly  human 
government,  which  could  at  once  repress  and  punish  evil-doers. 
Theocracy  is  the  sublimest  idea  of  government,  but  so  long  as  men 
are  self-willed  and  self-seeking,  it  is  not  found  to  be  practically 
efficient  Modifications  of  it  had  to  be  made  because  of  the  hard- 
ness of  men's  hearts. 

The  old  man  who  did  offer  hospitality  asks  questions  which  seem 
to  express  his  astonishment  that  anyone  should  think  of  passing  the 
night  in  Gibeah  out  of  doors.  The  city  had  such  a  bad  name  in  the 
neighbouring  region,  that  travellers  shunned  it ;  but  there  is  no 
sufficient  ground  for  assuming  that  so  vile  a  state  of  things  was  repre- 
sentative of  the  degraded  condition  of  the  country  generally. 


328      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Egyptian  Embalming. 

GENESIS  1.  2  :  '  And  Joseph  commanded  his  servants  the  physicians  to  embalm 
his  father;  and  the  physicians  embalmed  Israel.' 

Question. — As  embalming  was  connected  with  idolatrous  notions, 
how  are  we  to  understand  Joseph  s  adopting  such  heathen  methods  ? 

Answer. — Apart  from  superstitious  associations,  embalming  was 
the  national  mode  of  doing  honour  to  the  memory  of  great  persons, 
and  probably  in  this  way  only  did  Joseph  regard  it.  The  reverence 
thus  shown  for  the  bodies  of  the  dead  was  grounded  on  a  primitive 
traditional  belief  in  its  future  resurrection,  which  was  a  material 
setting  of  the  spiritual  truth  which  has  been  revealed  to  us. 

If  a  more  precise  reason  for  the  embalming  of  Jacob  be  sought  for, 
it  may  be  found  in  the  necessity  for  preparing  and  perfuming  the 
patriarch's  body,  in  view  of  the  long  journey  which  had  to  be  taken 
if  it  was  to  be  buried  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah.  Only  an  embalmed 
body  could  have  been  kept  unburied  for  so  long  a  time. 

There  is  abundant  information  at  command  concerning  this 
Egyptian  custom.  Only  a  few  details  can  be  appropriately  given  in 
this  connection. 

Jamieson  says  :  '  In  ancient  Egypt  the  embalmers  were  a  class  by 
themselves.  The  process  of  embalming  consisted  in  infusing  a  great 
quantity  of  resinous  substances  into  the  cavities  of  the  body,  after  the 
intestines  had  been  removed ;  and  then  a  regulated  degree  of  heat 
was  applied  to  dry  up  the  humours,  as  well  as  decompose  the  tarry 
materials  which  had  been  previously  introduced.  Thirty  days  were 
allotted  for  the  completion  of  this  process ;  forty  more  were  spent  in 
anointing  it  with  spices.  The  body,  tanned  from  this  operation,  was 
then  washed  and  wrapped  in  numerous  folds  of  linen  cloth — the 
joinings  of  which  were  fastened  with  gum,  and  then  deposited  in  a 
wooden  chest,  made  in  the  form  of  a  human  figure.' 

The  Speaker's  Commentary,  noting  the  fact  that  the  physicians  are 
said  to  have  embalmed  Jacob,  and  that  the  physicians  were  not 
usually  employed  in  this  work,  suggests  that  it  was  a  simpler  kind  of 
embalming  than  usual,  and  that  the  proper  embalmers  could  not  be 
employed  because  Jacob  was  a  foreigner. 

'The  Greek  historians  mention  three  ways  in  which  mummies 
were  made.  In  the  first,  the  brain  was  extracted  through  the  nose, 
and  the  intestines  were  removed.  The  body  was  then  filled  with 
myrrh,  cassia,  etc.,  after  which  it  was  steeped  in  natron  for  seventy 
days.  After  the  seventy  days  were  over,  the  body  was  washed,  and 


SWIMMING  METHODS.  329 

swathed  in  linen  bandages  gummed  on  the  inside  until  every  part  of 
it  was  covered.  In  the  second,  a  material  called  oil  of  cedar  was 
introduced,  which  dissolved  the  intestines,  so  that  they  could  be 
removed  without  mutilating  the  body.  It  was  then  laid  in  natron, 
which  dissolved  the  greater  part  of  the  flesh  and  left  only  the  skin 
and  bones.  In  the  third,  the  body  was  merely  salted  for  seventy 
days,  and  then  given  back  to  the  friends.  The  first  method  would 
cost  about  .£250  of  our  money,  the  second  ;£6o,  while  the  third 
would  be  very  cheap.' — E.  A.  W.  J3udge,  M.A. 

Swimming  Methods. 

ISAIAH  xxv.  n  :  '  And  he  shall  spread  forth  his  hands  in  the  midst  of  them,  as 
fie  that  swimmeth  spreadeth  forth  his  hands  to  swim.' 

Difficulty. — This  does  not  accurately  describe  the  kind  of  action  in 
swimming  with  which  we  are  familiar. 

Explanation. — In  our  method  of  swimming  the  hands  are 
brought  together  at  the  chest,  then  thrust  forward  together,  and 
widened  out  in  the  form  of  an  arch.  There  is  no  such  beating  of  the 
water  as  is  indicated  in  the  figure  of  this  passage.  It  seems  that  the 
people  of  the  East  are  fond  of  bathing,  and  many  of  them  are  expert 
swimmers.  They  all  swim  '  hand  over  hand,'  alternately  raising  each 
arm  out  of  the  water,  and  thus  never  presenting  the  whole  breast,  but 
only  one  side  to  the  stream.  The  American-Indians,  who  are 
generally  expert  swimmers,  uniformly  practise  the  Oriental  mode. 
Among  the  Assyrian  sculptures  which  represent  persons  in  the  act  of 
swimming,  there  does  not  appear  to  be  one  which  indicates  a  dif- 
ferent method.  The  lifting  up  of  each  arm,  and  bringing  it  down 
with  force,  well  expresses  the  repeated  blows  by  which  Moab  was  to 
'  be  trodden  down  as  straw  for  the  dunghill '  ( Van  Lennep]. 

It  should,  however,  be  noticed  that  Dr.  A.  Clarke's  translation  of 
verse  10  gives  a  possible  explanation  of  the  passage  now  before  us, 
in  accordance  with  Western  modes  of  swimming.  This  is  best  given 
in  a  note  from  Roberts,  who  says  on  the  translation  of  the  words  '  for 
the  dunghill,'  as  '  under  the  wheels  of  the  car.' — '  This  may  allude  to 
their  ancient  cars  of  war,  under  which  Moab  was  to  be  crushed,  or 
under  her  own  heathen  cars,  in  which  the  gods  were  taken  out  in 
procession.  To  spread  forth  the  hands,  as  a  person  when  swimming, 
may  refer  to  the  involuntary  stretching  forth  of  the  limbs  when  the 
body  was  crushed  with  the  weight  of  the  car ;  or  to  the  custom  of 
those  who,  when  they  go  before  the  car  in  procession,  prostrate  them- 
selves on  the  ground,  and  spread  out  their  hands  and  legs  as  if 


330     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

swimming,  till  they  have  measured  the  full  distance  the  car  has  to  go, 
by  throwing  themselves  on  the  earth  at  the  length  of  every  six  feet, 
and  by  motions  as  if  in  the  act  of  swimming.  The  whole  of  this  is 
done  as  a  penance  for  sin,  or  in  compliance  with  a  vow  made  in 
sickness  or  despair/ 

Beds  of  Gold  and  Silver. 

ESTHER  i.  6  :  '  The  beds  were  of  gold  and  silver,  upon  a  pavement  of  red,  and 
blue,  and  white,  and  black  marble.'  Rev.  Ver.  :  'couches.' 

Question. —  What  articles  of  furniture  may  we  suppose  to  be  in- 
dicated by  the  term  lbeds '  ? 

Answer. — Bedsteads  and  bedding,  such  as  we  are  familiar  with, 
are  not  usually  found  in  the  East.  A  bed-chamber  was  not  arranged 
for,  a  closet  sufficing  for  the  keeping  of  the  quilts  and  mattresses 
during  the  day.  The  divan,  or  platform  along  the  side  or  end  of  an 
Oriental  room,  sufficed  as  a  support  for  the  bedding.  There  is  but 
little  distinction  of  the  bed  from  the  sitting  furniture,  the  same  article 
being  used  for  nightly  rest  and  during  the  day.  The  term  beds  in  the 
text  would  better  be  rendered  couches^  on  which  guests  could  recline, 
and  which  either  had  frames  of  solid  gold  and  silver,  or  were  inlaid 
with  ornaments  of  those  costly  metals.  They  stood  on  an  elevated 
floor  of  parti- coloured  marble. 

Forbes  says  that  these  beds  of  gold  and  silver  may  receive  illustra- 
tion from  modern  Asiatic  furniture ;  the  divan,  or  hall  of  audience,, 
as  also  the  room  for  receiving  guests  in  private  houses,  is  generally 
covered  with  a  Persian  carpet,  round  which  are  placed  cushions  of 
different  shape  and  size,  in  cases  of  gold  and  silver  rincob,  or  of 
scarlet  cloth  embroidered ;  these  are  occasionally  moved  into  courts 
and  gardens,  and  placed  under  the  shahmyanah  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  company. 

Wilkinson  gives  very  interesting  details  respecting  the  chairs  and 
couches  of  Egyptian  mansions  and  palaces.  'Many  of  the  fauteuils  were 
of  the  most  elegant  form,  and  were  made  of  ebony  and  other  rare  woods, 
inlaid  with  ivory,  covered  with  rich  stuffs,  and  very  similar  to  some  now 
used  in  Europe,  to  which  indeed  they  have  frequently  served  as  models. 
None  of  these  have  yet  been  found  in  the  tombs  of  Thebes  ;  but  chairs 
of  more  ordinary  quality  are  occasionally  met  with,  some  of  which  are 
in  the  British  Museum  and  in  the  Leyden  Collection.  They  are  much 
smaller  than  the  fauteuils  of  the  sculptures,  the  seat  being  only  from 
eight  to  fourteen  inches  high,  and  are  deficient,  both  in  elegance  of 
form  and  in  the  general  style  of  their  construction  :  in  some  the  seat 


BEDS  OF  GOLD  AND  SILVER.  331 

is  of  wood,  in  others  of  interlaced  string  or  leathern  thongs,  in  ap- 
pearance, as  well  as  in  rank,  not  very  unlike  our  own  rush-bottomed 
chairs  ;  and  they  probably  belonged  to  persons  of  inferior  station,  or 
to  those  rooms  which  were  set  apart  for  casual  visitors.  Various  are 
the  forms  of  chairs  which  occur  in  the  sculptures,  representing  scenes 
of  domestic  life,  and  sacred  subjects.  Some  were,  on  the  principle 
of  our  camp-stools,  furnished  with  a  cushion,  or  covered  with  the 
skin  of  a  leopard  or  other  animal,  which  could  be  easily  removed 
when  the  chair  was  folded  up ;  and  it  was  not  unusual  to  make  other 
seats,  and  wooden  head-stools  or  pillows,  in  the  same  manner;  one 
of  which  was  found  by  me  at  Thebes,  and  is  now  in  the  British 
Museum.  They  were  adorned  in  various  ways  :  being  bound  with 
metal  plates,  or  inlaid  with  ivory  and  foreign  woods ;  and,  even  in 
some  ordinary  chairs,  sycamore,  or  other  native  wood,  was  painted  to 
imitate  that  of  a  more  rare  and  valuable  quality.  The  seat  was 
frequently  of  leather,  painted  with  flowers  or  fancy  devices  ;  and  the 
figure  of  a  captive,  or  a  conquered  foe,  was  frequently  represented  at 
the  side,  or  among  the  ornaments  of  the  chair.  Sometimes  the  seat 
was  formed  of  interlaced  work  of  string,  carefully  and  neatly  arranged, 
which,  like  our  Indian  cane  chairs,  appears  to  have  been  particularly 
adapted  for  a  hot  climate  ;  but  over  this  even  they  occasionally  placed 
a  leather  cushion  painted  in  the  manner  already  mentioned.  Most 
of  the  chairs  and  stools  were  about  the  ordinary  height  of  those  now 
used  in  Europe,  the  seat  nearly  in  a  line  with  the  bend  of  the  knee ; 
but  some  were  very  low,  and  others  offered  that  variety  of  position 
which  we  seek  in  the  kangaroo  chairs  of  our  own  drawing-room. 
The  ordinary  fashion  of  the  legs  was  in  imitation  of  those  of  some 
wild  animal,  as  the  lion,  or  the  goat,  but  more  usually  the  former,  the 
foot  raised  and  supported  on  a  short  pin  ;  and  what  is  remarkable, 
the  skill  of  their  cabinet-makers,  even  in  the  early  era  of  Joseph,  had 
already  done  away  with  the  necessity  of  uniting  the  legs  with  bars. 
Stools,  however,  and  more  rarely,  chairs,  were  occasionally  made  with 
these  strengthening  members,  as  is  still  the  case  in  our  own  country ; 
but  the  form  of  the  drawing-room  fauteuil  and  of  the  couch  was  not 
degraded  by  so  unseemly  and  so  unskilful  a  support.  The  back  of 
the  chair  was  equally  light  and  strong.  It  was  occasionally  concave, 
like  some  Roman  chairs,  or  the  throne  of  Solomon ;  and  in  many  of 
the  large  fauteuils  a  lion  formed  an  arm  at  either  side ;  but  the  back 
usually  consisted  of  a  single  set  of  upright  and  cross  bars,  or  of  a 
frame  receding  gradually,  and  terminating  at  its  summit  in  a  graceful 
curve,  supported  from  without  by  perpendicular  bars ;  and  over  this 
was  thrown  a  handsome  pillow  of  coloured  cotton,  painted  leather,  or 


332      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

gold  and  silver  tissue,  like  the  beds  at  the  feast  of  Ahasuerus,  men- 
tioned in  Esther;  or  like  the  feather  cushions,  covered  with  stufis. 
and  embroidered  with  silk  threads  of  gold,  in  the  palace  of 
Scaurus.' 

Covenant-Sealing  with   Gifts. 

GENESIS  xxi.  30  :  '  And  he  said,  For  these  seven  ewe  lambs  shalt  thou  take  of 
my  hand,  that  they  may  be  a  witness  unto  me,  that  I  have  digged  this  well. 

Question. —  Was  this  a  special  device  of  Abraham's,  or  did  he 
simply  act  in  accordance  with  recognised  Oriental  customs  ? 

Answer. — There  is  good  reason  for  thinking  that  a  custom  is 
referred  to  which  even  now  prevails  in  Eastern  lands.  It  seems  that 
there  had  been  a  dispute  between  Abimelech  and  Abraham  as  to  the 
right  of  possessing  the  well  at  Beersheba,  which  Abraham  appears  to 
have  digged.  Abraham  gave  Abimelech,  in  addition  to  other 
presents,  seven  ewe  lambs,  as  a  witness  for  him  that  he  had  digged 
the  well,  and  this  present  was  regarded  as  settling  the  dispute  and 
sealing  the  covenant  between  them. 

Bruce,  the  traveller,  while  in  Abyssinia,  wished  to  go  from  one 
place  to  another,  and  the  Sheikh  had  assured  him  that  the  journey 
might  be  undertaken  with  safety.  'But,'  said  I,  'suppose  your 
people  meet  us  in  the  desert,  how  shall  we  fare  in  that  case? 
Should  we  fight  ?'  '  I  have  told  you,  Sheikh,  already,'  says  he ; 
'  cursed  be  the  man  that  lifts  his  hand  against  you,  or  even  does  not 
defend  and  befriend  you  to  his  own  loss,  even  were  it  Ibrahim,  my 
own  son.'  Then,  after  some  conversation,  the  old  man  muttered 
something  to  his  sons  in  a  dialect  Bruce  did  not  understand,  and 
in  a  little  time  the  whole  hut  was  filled  with  people,  the  priests  and 
monks  of  their  religion,  and  the  heads  of  families.  '  The  great 
people  joined  hands,  and  uttered  a  kind  of  prayer — really  the  oath — 
about  two  minutes  long,  by  which  they  declared  themselves  and 
their  children  accursed  if  ever  they  lifted  their  hands  against  me  in 
the  field,  in  the  desert,  or  on  the  river;  or,  in  case  that  I  or  mine 
should  fly  to  them  for  refuge,  if  they  did  not  protect  us  at  the  risk  of 
their  lives,  their  families,  and  their  fortunes,  or,  as  they  emphatically 
expressed  it,  "  to  the  death  of  the  last  male  child  among  them." 
Medicines  and  advice  were  given  on  my  part,  faith  and  promises 
were  pledged  on  theirs,  and  then  two  bushels  of  wheat  and  seven  sheep 
were  carried  down  to  my  boat' 

Dean  Payne  Smith  says  :  '  The  word  in  Hebrew  for  "  swearing  "  is 
a  passive  verb,  literally  signifying  "to  be  sevened,"  that  is,  done  or 


S£  YEN  DA  YS}  SILENT  SYMPA  THY.  333 

confirmed  by  seven.  In  this  ancient  narrative  we  see  a  covenant 
ictually  thus  made  binding.  Seven  ewe  lambs  are  picked  out  and 
placed  by  themselves,  and  by  accepting  these  Abimelech  bound 
tiimself  to  acknowledge  and  respect  Abraham's  title  to  the  well. 
Apparently  this  manner  of  ratifying  an  oath  was  unknown  to  the 
Philistines,  as  Abimelech  asks,  "  What  mean  these  seven  ewe  lambs  ?" 
out  it  is  equally  possible  that  this  question  was  dictated  by  the  rules  of 
Oriental  courtesy.  When  Abraham  had  picked  out  the  lambs,  it 
Became  Abimelech's  duty  to  ask  what  was  the  purpose  of  the  act, 
which  was  then  explained,  and  as  soon  as  the  lambs  were  accepted, 
.he  ratification  was  complete. ' 

Such  symbols  are  common  in  all  counties.  In  Scotland,  until  a 
recent  period,  the  symbol  in  the  sale  of  land  was  a  handful  of  earth 
md  stones  ;  for  a  ferry,  an  oar  and  water ;  and  for  church  patronage, 
i  psalm-book  and  the  keys  of  the  church. 

Seven  Days'  Silent  Sympathy. 

JOB  ii.  13 :  'So  they  sat  down  with  him  upon  the  ground  seven  days  and  seven 
lights,  and  none  spake  a  word  unto  him  :  for  they  saw  that  his  grief  was  very 
jreat.' 

Difficulty. — It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  that  three  me?i  actually 
remained  seated,  without  food,  or  drink,  or  spoken  word,  for  so  long  a 
time  as  seven  days. 

Explanation. — It  is  only  our  ignorance  of  Eastern  customs  that 
leads  us  to  assume  that  Job's  three  friends  never  moved,  and  took 
no  food,  during  those  seven  days.  The  passage  only  states  that  they 
spake  no  word,  and  to  sit  in  perfect  silence  for  a  very  prolonged 
period  is  quite  a  customary  Eastern  practice.  Seven  days  was  the 
usual  period  of  mourning,  and  all  we  can  reasonably  assume  is  that 
there  was  some  degree  of  fasting,  not  enough  to  imperil  health  or 
life. 

Describing  the  mourning  customs  in  connection  with  the  death  of 
Lazarus,  of  Bethany,  Dr.  C.  Geikie  tells  us  that  the  sisters  had  fasted 
all  the  day  after  the  death,  and  had  since  eaten  nothing  but  an  occa- 
sional egg,  or  some  lentiles;  for  that  was  the  only  food  allowed 
mourners,  for  the  first  seven  days.  When  returned  from  the  burial, 
'  the  sisters,  with  veiled  heads,  even  in  their  own  chamber,  and  with 
unsandaled  feet,  sat  down  on  the  earth,  in  the  midst  of  a  circle  of  at 
least  ten  friends,  or  professional  mourners,  with  rent  clothes  and 
dust  on  their  heads.  None  spoke  till  the  bereaved  ones  had  done  so, 
but  every  sentence  of  theirs  was  followed  by  some  word  of  sympathy 
and  comfort,  and  by  the  wails  of  the  mourners.  And  thus  it  would 


334     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

be  for  seven  days.*  According  to  this  account,  if  Job  did  not  speak, 
the  friends  would  not. 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  has  the  following  valuable  note : 
{ The  cause  of  this  prolonged  silence  has  been  questioned. 
Among  the  Jews  it  is  a  point  of  decorum,  and  one  dictated  by  a  fine 
and  true  feeling,  not  to  speak  to  a  person  in  deep  affliction  until  he 
gives  an  intimation  of  a  desire  to  be  comforted ;  such  was  possibly 
their  motive,  as  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  last  words  in  the 
chapter.  Others  see  in  this  silence  one  sign  of  perplexity  as  to  the 
origin  of  the  infliction  ;  and  a  suspicion  that  Job's  conscience  might 
be  burdened  with  some  hidden  guilt :  in  either  case  the  long,  weary 
suspense  was  too  much  for  his  feelings,  he  could  bear  it  no  more, 
and  at  last  gave  expression  to  the  agony  which  he  had  hitherto 
endured  in  silence.  With  that  expression  the  long  colloquy  is 
opened  in  which  the  causes  and  principles  of  heaven-sent  afflictions 
are  discussed.' 

Barnes  provides  a  very  apt  and  suggestive  illustration.  He  says  : 
'  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  they  remained  in  the  same  place  and 
posture  for  seven  days  and  nights.  The  meaning  is,  that  they 
mourned  with  him  during  that  time  in  the  usual  way.  An  instance 
of  grief  remarkably  similar  to  this,  continuing  through  a  period  of 
six  days,  is  ascribed  by  Euripides  to  Orestes. 

'  "  'Tis  hence  Orestes,  agonised  with  griefs 
And  sore  disease,  lies  on  his  restless  bed 
Delirious.     Now  six  morns  have  winged  their  flight, 
Since  by  his  hands  his  parent  massacred, 
Burnt  on  the  pile  in  expiatory  flames. 
Stubborn  the  while  he  keeps  a  rigid  fast, 
Nor  bathes,  nor  dresses  ;  but  beneath  his  robes 
He  skulks,  and  if  he  steals  a  pause  from  rage, 
'Tis  but  to  feel  his  weight  of  woe  and  weep. " ' 

Kitto  says  :  *  To  the  statement  that  the  friends  sat  upon  the  ground 
seven  days  and  seven  nights  in  silence,  it  may  be  objected  that  it  is 
scarcely  credible  that  Job  himself,  weakened  by  disease  and  exces- 
sive grief,  should  be  able  to  sit  thus  seven  days  successively  without 
speech  or  motion ;  and  at  least  equally  so,  that  his  friends,  who  were 
in  perfect  health,  and  just  off  a  long  and  tiresome  journey,  should 
forego  during  all  that  time  the  natural  uses  and  offices  of  life,  to  sit 
without  speaking  a  single  word.  Knowing  the  capacity  of  the 
Orientals  for  remaining  so  long  in  one  place,  and  even  in  one  posture, 
as  would  be  astonishing  to  Europeans,  we  are  not  quite  so  much 
impressed  with  this  difficulty  as  some  have  been.  Nevertheless,  we 
may  admit  that  such  texts  as  these  are  not  to  be  too  stringently  in- 
terpreted. We  conceive  that,  rightly  understood,  it  does  not  pre- 


PLANTING  A  GROVE.  335 

dude  them  from  sleeping,  eating,  and  going  about — not  even  from 
some  slight  expressions  of  sorrow  and  condolence,  but  that  it  does 
mean  that  they  constantly,  during  that  period,  returned  to  sit  with 
him,  spending,  in  fact,  as  much  of  their  time  with  him  as  they 
possibly  could ;  during  which,  beholding  his  distress  of  mind,  they 
made  no  attempt  to  enter  into  conversation,  argument,  or  discussion 
with  him.  This  is  quite  sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  text, 
as  we  may  see  by  other  instances,  in  which  the  inspired  penmen 
speak  of  a  thing  as  being  continually  done,  which  was  only  done  very 
frequently.' 

Planting  a  Grove. 

GENESIS  xxi.  33  :  '  And  Abraham  planted  a  grove  in  Beersheba,  and  called 
there  on  the  name  of  the  Lord,  the  everlasting  God.'  Rev.  Ver. :  '  tamarisk-tree.' 

Difficulty. — Since  'groves'  are  associations  of  idolatrous  worship, 
tould  Abraham  have  been  right  in  this  act  ? 

Explanation. — There  is  considerable  dispute  on  the  question 
whether  Abraham  planted  a  single  tree,  as  a  memorial  or  witness  of 
his  claim  to  the  well,  or  whether  he  separated  a  spot  for  sacred 
worship  by  surrounding  it  with  a  circle  of  trees.  As  the  passage  so 
clearly  connects  his  act  with  the  offering  of  worship,  it  is  very  pro- 
bable that  the  English  Authorized  Version  contains  the  true  idea,  and 
that  a  sacred  place  was  made  round  the  Jehovah-altar. 

A  thing  may  at  first  be  done  in  simplicity,  and  for  those  who  do 
it  at  first  it  may  be  quite  proper  and  helpful :  but  as  time  goes  on  the 
thing  may  become  guileful ;  it  may  be  filled  with  evil  associations, 
and  perverted  to  mischievous  uses.  Then  it  must  be  spoken  of  as 
wrong,  and  then  it  will  be  denounced  by  God ;  but  we  have  no  right 
to  say  that  because  a  certain  thing  was  wrong  in  the  age  of  the  later 
kings,  therefore  it  must  also  have  been  wrong  in  the  days  of 
Abraham.  We  must  judge  each  case  in  the  light  of  the  knowledge, 
revelation,  and  sentiments  of  its  time. 

In  favour  of  the  view  that  Abraham  only  planted  a  single  tamarisk- 
tree,  as  a  declaration  that  he  had  a  right  to  the  well  beside  which  it 
grew,  the  custom  prevailing  in  Turkey  may  be  referred  to.  '  When 
a  person  plants  a  tree  in  unreclaimed  land,  he  becomes  the  owner  of 
the  tree  as  well  as  of  five  feet  of  ground  all  round  it.' 

KittO)  taking  the  view  that  Abraham  planted  a  grove  or  circle  ot 
trees,  deals  with  the  question,  how  that  could  be  right  for  Abiaham 
which  was  so  vigorously  denounced  in  later  times.  He  says  :  *  We 
must  regard  Abraham,  not  as  an  isolated  individual,  but  as  the  chief 
and  master  of  many  hundred  persons,  who  worshipped  God  with 


336      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

him  by  sacrifice  and  prayer.  They  must  have  met  together  for  these 
acts  of  worship,  which  doubtless  the  patriarch  himself  conducted. 
One  tent  could  not  have  contained  them  all,  but  a  grove  of  trees 
would  afford  all  the  shelter  required.  Hence,  when  men  had  no 
fixed  abode,  or  afterwards,  when  they  had  not  yet  learned  how  tot 
construct  edifices  large  enough  for  many  persons  to  join  them  in  an 
act  of  worship,  groves  of  trees  became  their  temples — the  first  temples 
of  mankind.  It  was  also,  it  would  seem,  regarded  as  becomingly 
reverent,  that  the  altar  appropriated  to  sacrificial  worship,  should  not 
stand  out  among  the  common  objects  of  the  wayside,  but  should  be 
descently  veiled  from  careless  notice  by  a  screen  of  trees.  So  the 
worship  in  groves  was  not  in  itself  blameable.  It  was  even  usefully 
solemnizing ;  and  it  appears  to  have  involved  a  recollection  of  Eden,. 
to  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  ascribe  any  other  than  a  salutary 
influence.  But  when  gross  idols  arose  around,  and  the  groves  were 
considered  proper  to  their  worship,  it  behoved  God  to  make  a 
distinction  between  His  worship  and  theirs,  and  to  show  that  he  had 
no  fellowship  with  the  powers  of  darkness  ....  Nothing  is  more 
notorious  than  the  shameful  orgies  that  were  celebrated  in  these 
sacred  groves  ;  and  it  might  well  be  feared  that  the  presence  of  a 
grove  would  soon  bring  around  the  sanctuary  a  crowd  of  idle 
devotees,  coming,  not  to  worship,  but  to  enjoy  themselves,  and  where 
the  leafy  screen  and  the  cool  and  pleasant  shade  would  soon  allure 
to  all  kinds  of  licentious  freedom/ 

Bowing  on  the  Bed's  Head. 

GENESIS  xlvii.  31 :  '  And  Israel  bowed  himself  upon  the  bed's  head.' 

Question. —  What  special  significance  can  we  suppose  to  have  at- 
tached to  this  act,  seeing  it  is  so  carefully  recorded? 

Answer. — The  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  gives  a 
totally  different  form  to  this  incident.  He  says  (ch.  xi.  21),  'And 
worshipped,  leaning  upon  the  top  of  his  staff.'  His  rendering  is  taken 
from  the  Septuagint,  and  it  gives  the  probable  explanation  of  the  act 
of  Jacob.  From  the  Egyptian  inscriptions  we  learn  that  the  staff 
was  the  symbol  of  office  ;  and  so,  if  Jacob  '  had  bowed  himseb 
toward  the  head  of  Joseph's  staff,  he  would  have  been  simply 
acknowledging  the  authority  of  Joseph  as  deputy  and  representative 
of  the  king.  The  inscriptions  show  that  the  Egyptians  were  in  the 
habit  of  touching  the  head  of  the  official  staff  in  token  of  homage  when- 
they  made  oath,  as  Jacob  did  upon  the  occasion  in  question.' 

M.  ChabaS)  in  his  interesting  essay  on  Egyptian  judicial  proceed- 


LOWING  ON  THE  BED'S  HEAD.  337 

ings,  cites  the  following  passage  describing  the  taking  of  an  oath  by  a 
witness  in  a  trial  at  Thebes  :  '  He  made  a  life  of  the  royal  lord, 
striking  his  nose  and  his  ears,  and  placing  himself  on  the  head  of  the 
staff.'  This  seems  to  have  been  the  ordinary  oath  when  the  witness 
bowed  himself  on  the  magistrate's  staff  of  office. 

Inglis  tells  us  that,  *  in  Hebrew,  when  written  without  the  vowel 
points,  the  word  for  "  bed  "  and  for  "staff"  is  the  same ;  and  accord- 
ing to  the  vowels  we  read  either  matteh,  a  staff,  or  mittah^  a  bed.  As 
Jacob  does  not  appear  to  have  been  in  bed  at  the  time  of  Joseph's 
visit,  the  rendering  "  staff"  is  to  be  preferred,  it  being  natural  that 
the  venerable  old  man,  as  he  worshipped  God,  should  bow  down  on 
the  staff  which  he  had  carried  through  all  his  wanderings " 
(ch.  xxxii.  10). 

The  picture  of  the  bowed  patriarch,  bent  with  the  weight  of  years 
and  feebleness,  and  leaning  heavily  on  his  staff,  is  a  very  natural  and 
very  beautiful  one.  And,  as  the  Oriental  beds  are  little  more  than 
mats  on  the  raised  floors,  it  is  not  easy  for  us  to  conceive  what  can 
be  meant  by  the  '  bed's  head.' 

Thfodoret  gives  an  admirable  paraphrase,  which  should  be  regarded 
as  in  every  way  satisfactory.  'He  strengthened  himself  upon  his 
staff,  and  so,  leaning  forward,  worshipped  God.' 

It  has  been  asked,  '  Why  did  Jacob  bow  himself?'  This  Words- 
worth answers  by  saying  :  *  The  act  of  bowing  himself  is  mentioned 
as  a  consequence  of  Joseph's  consent  to  his  request,  that  Joseph 
should  bury  him  in  Canaan ;  and  the  most  probable  opinion  seems 
to  be,  that  Jacob  bowed  himself  in  adoration  of  God,  for  His  mercy  in 
restoring  Joseph  to  him,  and  because  his  prayer  for  burial  in  Canaan 
was  granted,  and  because  the  oath  which  he  had  asked  from  Joseph, 
and  which  Joseph  had  just  sworn,  was  a  solemn  appeal  to  Almight) 
God.  To  His  great  name,  in  thankful  adoration,  the  aged  Patriarch, 
the  pilgrim  of  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  years,  bowed  his  head, 
leaning  on  the  staff  of  his  pilgrimage,  the  emblem  of  that  power  which 
had  supported  him  in  all  his  wanderings,  and  which  had  now  brought 
him  near  to  his  end  in  peace.' 

A  Man's  Shadow  marking  the  Time. 

JOB  vii.  2 :  *  As  a  servant  earnestly  desireth  the  shadow,  and  as  an  hireling 
looketh  for  the  reward  of  his  work.' 

Question. —  What  custom  connected  with  day-labourers  may  we 
suppose  is  referred  to  in  this  passage  ? 

Answer. — It  may  be  that   the  verse  should   bear  the   simple 
meaning,  '  As  the  bond-slave  daily  panteth  after  the  shade,  and  *& 

22 


338      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

ihe  hireling  longeth  for  the  end  of  his  work.'  Then  the  allusion  is 
to  the  severity  of  the  restraint  and  toil  under  which  the  bond-slave  is 
placed.  Exhausted  with  the  heat  he  longs  for  shade ;  weary  with 
long  hours  he  sighs  for  night  and  rest.  Nothing  is  more  grateful  in 
Oriental  countries,  when  the  sun  pours  down  intensely  on  burning 
sands,  than  the  shadow  of  a  tree,  or  the  shade  of  a  projecting  rock. 
And  it  is  common  to  all  languages  to  speak  of  night  as  enveloped 
with  shadows. 

But  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  speaker  had  in  mind  a  familiar 
Eastern  custom,  of  which  there  are  traces  among  country  people 
even  in  our  own  land  and  time — the  custom  of  standing  in  the 
sunshine  and  guessing  the  time  from  the  length  of  the  shadow 
thrown  by  the  man's  own  body.  The  daily  practice  of  this  custom, 
and  daily  observance  of  the  position  of  the  sun,  enables  men  by  this 
means  to  calculate  the  time  with  surprising  exactness. 

Roberts  tells  us  that  *  the  people  of  the  East  measure  time  by  the 
length  of  their  shadow.  Hence,  if  you  ask  a  man  what  o'clock  it  is, 
he  immediately  goes  in  the  sun,  stands  erect,  then  looks  where  his 
shadow  terminates  :  he  measures  the  length  with  his  feet,  and  tells 
you  nearly  the  time.  Thus  they  earnestly  desire  the  shadow^  which 
indicates  the  time  for  leaving  their  work.  A  person  wishing  to  leave 
his  toil  often  cries  out,  "  How  long  my  shadow  is  in  coming !"  When 
asked,  "  Why  did  you  not  come  sooner  ?"  his  answer  is,  "  Because  I 
waited  for  my  shadow.'" 

We  have  seen  it  stated  that  in  some  parts. of  England  it  was 
customary,  a  few  years  ago,  before  watches  became  common,  for  all 
labourers,  whom  a  long  familiarity  had  taught  the  direction  in  which 
the  fields  lay  in  respect  to  the  cardinal  points  of  the  heavens,  when 
they  wished  to  ascertain  the  hour  of  the  day,  to  turn  their  faces 
towards  the  north,  and  observe  the  bearing  of  their  own  shadow. 
By  this  simple  expedient  they  would  often  guess  within  a  few  minutes 
of  the  time. 

Lifting  up  the  Head. 

GENESIS  xl.  13  :  '  Yet  within  three  days  shall  Pharaoh  lift  up  thine  head,  and 
restore  thee  unto  thy  place.'  (See  ver.  19.) 

Question. — Is  this  an  ordinary  poetical  figure  of  '•restoration]  or 
is  it  based  on  some  particular  Oriental  custom  ? 

Answer. — Stackhouse  gives  a  very  interesting  explanation,  which 
seems  so  reasonable  that  we  are  disposed  to  accept  it  as  the  true 
one.  He  says  that  the  ancients,  in  keeping  their  reckonings,  or 
accounts  of  time,  or  their  list  of  domestic  officers  or  servants,  made 


LIFTING  UP  THE  HEAD.  3o9 

use  of  tables  with  holes  bored  in  them,  in  which  they  put  a  sort  ot 
pegs,  or  nails  with  broad  heads,  exhibiting  the  particulars,  either 
number  or  name,  or  whatever  it  was.  These  nails  or  pegs  the  Jews 
call  heads,  and  the  sockets  of  the  heads  they  call  bases.  The  mean- 
ing, therefore,  of  Pharaoh's  lifting  up  his  head  is,  that  Pharaoh  would 
take  out  the  peg,  which  had  the  cupbearer's  name  on  the  top  of  it,  to 
read  it ;  that  is,  would  sit  in  judgment,  and  make  examination  into 
his  accounts ;  for  it  seems  very  probable  that  both  he  and  the  baker 
had  been  either  suspected  or  accused  of  having  cheated  the  king, 
and  ',hat,  when  their  accounts  were  examined  and  cast  up,  the  one 
was  acquitted,  while  the  other  was  found  guilty.  And  though  Joseph 
uses  the  same  expression  in  both  cases,  yet  we  may  observe  that, 
speaking  to  the  baker,  he  adds,  that  Pharaoh  shall  lift  up  thy  head 
from  off  thee,  that  is,  shall  order  thy  name  to  be  struck  out  of  the 
lists  of  his  servants,  by  taking  thy  peg  out  of  the  socket 

Under  the  Rod. 

LEVITICUS  xxvii.  32  :  *  And  concerning  the  tithe  of  the  herd,  or  of  the  flock, 
even  of  whatsoever  passeth  under  the  rod,  the  tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the 
Lord.' 

Question. — Does  this  refer  to  an  ordinary  method  of  counting 
animals,  OT  to  some  special  method  adopted  for  reckoning  the  tithe  ? 

Answer. — There  is  nothing  special  about  the  figure  here  used ; 
and  the  idea  that  '  passing  under  the  rod '  represents  our  times  of 
affliction,  belongs  entirely  to  the  sphere  of  Christian  sentiment. 

A  Christian  missionary  admirably  explains  the  figure.  He  says : 
'  In  Syria,  just  below  my  house,  which  stood  facing  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  there  was  a  sheepfold — a  large  area  surrounded  by  high  walls. 
It  had  but  one  entrance,  a  little  gateway  near  the  corner.  It  was 
long  and  narrow,  and  a  man  must  stoop  to  get  into  it.  Every  night 
the  shepherd  brings  home  his  flock  from  outside  the  city,  or  from  the 
distant  field,  or  the  mountain  side,  to  be  gathered  into  this  fold.  And 
as  they  pass  into  this  narrow  gateway,  they  must  go  one  by  one.  No 
huddling,  and  crowding,  and  jostling,  as  boys  do  sometimes  at  play ; 
but,  as  they  pass  in,  the  shepherd  stands  by  the  gate,  and  holds  his 
crook  over  them,  to  count  them  one  by  one  as  they  go  in.  Every 
night  the  shepherd  does  this,  and  so  he  knows  if  any  are  leic  out  in 
the  field  or  on  the  mountains.'  This  counting  of  the  sheep,  as  they 
pass  under  the  rod,  is  referred  to  in  the  above  passage,  as  will  be 
clearly  seen  by  comparing  it  with  Jer.  xxxiii.  13.  'In  the  cities  of 
the  mountains,  in  the  cities  of  the  vale,  and  in  the  cities  01  the  south, 

22 — 2 


340      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

and  in  the  land  of  Benjamin,  and  in  the  places  about  Jerusalem,  and 
in  the  cities  of  Judaea,  shall  the  flocks  pass  again  under  the  hands  of 
him  that  telleth  (counteth)  them.'  '  This  is  a  work  of  restoration, 
and  the  fields  there  shall  have  flocks  in  great  number,  and  they  shal) 
pass  under  the  hand  of  the  shepherd,  who  tells  them  one  by  one  as 
he  gathers  them  into  the  fold.' 

Wordsworth's  note  on  the  verse  gives  a  similar  explanation.  '  As 
the  sheep  went  of  their  own  accord  out  of  the  fold  they  were  to  be 
counted,  and  every  tenth  of  the  increase  was  to  be  given  to  the 
Lord.' 

Jamieson  adds  to  our  knowledge  of  the  shepherd  customs  alluded 
to.  He  says  :  '  This  refers  to  the  mode  of  taking  the  tithe  of  cattle, 
which  were  made  to  pass  singly  through  a  narrow  gateway,  where  a 
person  with  a  rod,  tipped  in  ochre,  stood,  and  counting  them,  marked 
the  back  of  every  tenth  beast,  whether  male  or  female,  sound  or 
unsound.' 

Monthly  Prognosticators. 

ISAIAH  xlvii.  13  :  *  The  astrologers,  the  stargazers,  the  monthly  prognosticates.  * 
Heb. :  'Those  that  give  knowledge  concerning  the  months.' 

Question. — Can  this  distinct  class  be  identified ;  and  can  their 
precise  work  be  explained? 

Answer. — Canon  Rawlinson  tells  us  that  'the  Assyrian  and 
Babylonian  libraries  contained  hundreds  of  tablets,  copied  with  the 
utmost  care,  on  which  were  recorded  the  exorcisms,  the  charms,  the 
talismans,  and  the  astronomical  prognostics,  which  had  come  down 
from  a  remote  antiquity,  and  which  were  implicitly  believed  in.  The 
celestial  phenomena  were  constantly  observed,  and  reports  sent  to  the 
court  from  observatories,  which  formed  the  ground-work  of  confident 
predictions.  Eclipses  were  especially  noted,  and,  according  to  the 
month  and  day  of  their  occurrence,  were  regarded  as  portending 
events,  political,  social,  or  meteorological. 

1  The  division  of  the  learned  class  into  three  distinct  bodies,  devoted 
to  different  branches  of  the  mystic  lore  in  which  all  participated, 
receives  illustration  from  the  native  remains,  where  the  literature  of 
magic  comes  under  three  principal  heads:  (i)  written  charms  or 
talismans,  which  were  to  be  placed  on  the  bodies  of  sick  persons, 
or  on  the  doorposts  of  afflicted  houses ;  (2)  formulae  of  incantation, 
which  had  to  be  recited  by  the  learned  men  in  order  to  produce  their 
proper  effect ;  and  (3)  records  of  observations,  intended  to  serve  as 
grounds  for  the  prediction  of  particular  events,  together  with  collec- 


MONTHL  Y  PROGNOSTICA  TORS.  341 

tions  of  prognostications  from  eclipses  or  other  celestial  phenomena, 
regarded  as  having  a  general  applicability.  The  preparation  of  the 
written  charms  or  talismans  was  probably  the  special  task  of  the 
*'  magicians,"  or  Khertummim,  whose  name  is  formed  from  the  root 
Kheret,  which  signifies  an  "  engraving  tool "  or  "  stylus."  The 
composition  and  recitation  of  the  formulae  of  incantation  belonged 
to  the  ash  shaphim  or  meca  shaphim,  the  "  astrologers"  and  " sorcerers" 
of  our  version,  whose  names  are  derived  from  the  root  ashaph  or 
cashaph)  which  means  to  "  mutter."  The  taking  of  observations  and 
framing  of  tables  of  prognostics  is  probably  to  be  assigned  to  the 
gdzerhn  or  "dividers,"  in  our  version  "soothsayers,"  who  divided 
the  heavens  into  constellations  or  "houses"  for  astronomical  and 
astrological  purposes.' 

Henderson  thinks  that  the  astronomers  of  Babylon  published  a 
monthly  table  of  the  leading  events  that  might  be  expected  to 
happen. 

Professor  Sayce  gives  some  additional  information.  He  says  :  *  Even 
the  science  of  the  Babylonians  and  their  Assyrian  disciples  was  not 
free  from  superstition.  Astronomy  was  mixed  with  astrology,  and 
their  observation  of  terrestrial  phenomena  led  only  to  an  elaborate 
system  of  augury.  The  false  assumption  was  made  that  an  event 
was  caused  by  another  which  had  immediately  preceded  it ;  and 
hence  it  was  laid  down  that  whenever  two  events  had  been  observed 
to  follow  one  upon  the  other,  the  recurrence  of  the  first  would  cause 
the  other  to  follow  again.  The  assumption  was  an  illustration  of  the 
well-known  fallacy  :  "  Post  hoc,  ergo  propter  hoc."  It  produced  both 
the  pseudo-science  of  astrology  and  the  pseudo-science  of  augury. 
The  standard  work  an  astronomy  was  that  called  "  The  Observations 
of  Bel,"  compiled  originally  for  the  library  of  Sargon  I.  at  Accad. 
Additions  were  made  to  it  from  time  to  time,  the  chief  object  of  the 
work  being  to  notice  the  events  which  happened  after  each  celestial 
phenomenon.  Thus  the  occurrences  which  at  different  periods 
followed  a  solar  eclipse  on  a  particular  day  were  all  duly  introduced 
into  the  text,  and  piled,  as  it  were,  one  upon  the  other.  The  table  of 
contents  prefixed  to  the  work  showed  that  it  treated  of  various  matters 
— eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon,  the  conjunction  of  the  sun  and 
moon,  the  phases  of  Venus  and  Mars,  the  position  of  the  pole-star, 
the  changes  of  the  weather,  the  appearance  of  comets,  or,  as  they  are 
called,  "  stars  with  a  tail  behind  and  a  corona  in  front,"  and  the 
like.' 


342      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Reconciliation  Presents. 

GENESIS  xx.  14,  16  :  'And  Abimelech  took  sheep  and  oxen,  and  men-servants 
and  women-servants,  and  gave  them  unto  Abraham,  and  restored  him  Sarah  hL, 
wife.  .  .  .  And  unto  Sarah  he  said,  Behold,  I  have  given  thy  brother  a  thousand 
pieces  of  silver  :  behold,  it  is  for  thee  a  covering  of  the  eyes  to  all  that  are  with 
thee  ;  and  in  respect  of  all  thou  art  righted '  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — //  does  not  seem  easy  to  understand  why  Abimelech 
made  these  presents,  seeing  that,  if  he  acted  violently ',  he  was  led  into 
his  act  by  Abraham's  deception. 

Explanation. — The  Septuagint  renders  this  verse  thus  :  'These 
shall  be  to  thee  for  an  honour  of  thy  countenance,  and  to  all  the 
women  that  are  with  thee  ;  and  speak  the  truth  in  all  things.' 

The  Vulgate  renders  thus  :  'This  shall  be  to  thee  for  a  veil  of  the 
eyes  to  all  that  are  with  thee,  and  wheresoever  thou  shalt  go ;  and 
remember  that  thou  hast  been  detected.' 

Dean  Payne  Smith  thinks  the  correct  rendering  probably  is  :  *  And 
unto  Sarah  he  said,  Behold,  I  have  given  thy  brother  (a  gift  worth)  a 
thousand  (pieces)  of  silver  :  behold,  it  shall  be  to  thee  for  a  covering 
of  the  eyes  to  all  that  are  with  thee  (that  is,  so  large  a  compensation 
for  the  wrong  done  thee  in  taking  thee  from  thy  husband,  will  be  a 
proof  to  all  thy  friends  and  attendants  that  thou  hast  not  been  dis- 
graced, but  treated  with  honour) ;  and  in  respect  of  all  that  has 
happened  thou  art  thus  righted.' 

Wordsworth  gives  the  three  possible  explanations.  'The  sense 
seems  to  be,  I  have  been  to  blame,  and  acknowledge  my  sin,  and 
make  restitution  for  it.  But  thou  art  not  altogether  free  from  fault 
If  thou  hadst  been  on  thy  guard,  and  hadst  kept  thyself  from  public 
view,  as  a  modest  matron  ought  to  do  in  a  strange  land,  I  should  not 
have  been  beguiled  to  do  what  I  have  done.  And  now  I  have  given 
to  him,  who  is  thy  husband,  and  whom  thou  didst  call  thy  brother,  ::. 
thousand  pieces  of  silver ;  let  this  be  to  thee  a  covering  of  thim 
eyes ;  let  it  be  an  offering  from  me  to  expiate  my  offence,  and  to 
appease  thee,  and  to  prevent  thee  from  looking  on  me  with  anger. 

*  Perhaps,  also,  the  words  may  be  applied  in  another  sense.  Let 
this  sum  be  for  the  covering  of  thine  eyes  in  the  provision  of  veils 
for  thy  face  wherever  thou  goest,  so  that  thou  mayest  not  ensnarr 
others,  as  thou  hast  ensnared  me,  but  mayest  be  attired  with  shame- 
facedness  and  modesty.  This  exposition  is  confirmed  by  what  is 
related  of  Rebekah  (ch.  xxiv.  65),  that  when  she  heard  of  Isaac'.-* 
approach,  she  dismounted  from  her  camel,  and  covered  her  head 
with  a  veil. 


RECONCILIA  TION  PRESENTS.  343 

'Perhaps,  also,  there  may  be  an  allusion  here  to  the  usage  of 
covering  a  bride  with  a  veil ;  and  Abimelech  may  also  intend  to  say, 
I  have  given  a  thousand  pieces  of  silver  to  thy  brother,  who  is  hence- 
forth to  be  declared  to  be  thy  husband ;  let  this  be  as  a  dowry  from 
me,  and  let  it  be  applied  to  procure  thee  a  bridal  veil,  so  that  all 
may  know  thee  to  be  married  to  him,  and  so  prevent  thee  from  pre- 
tending to  be  his  sister,  and  protect  thy  modesty  from  encroach- 
ments.' 

As  a  general  rule,  the  simplest  explanation  of  a  Scripture  figure  is 
likely  to  be  the  correct  one  ;  and  we  often  err  in  searching  for  deep 
meanings  when  the  one  that  is  ready  to  hand  is  quite  satisfactory. 
In  this  case  we  prefer  the  very  simple,  and  almost  prosaic  interpreta" 
tion,  that  the  money  was  a  charge  to  purchase  veils  for  Sarah  and 
her  attendants,  who  in  tent-life  had  not  worn  them,  that  she  might 
henceforth  be  known  as  a  married  woman,  exclusively  belonging  to 
her  husband.  There  is  good  reason  for  the  statement,  that  unmarried 
females  among  the  pastoral  tribes  do  not  wear  any  kind  of  veil,  and 
married  women  only  partially  veil  the  face  by  means  of  a  kerchief. 
In  towns  the  face  is  wholly  covered.  Abimelech,  familiar  with  the 
custom  of  the  towns,  and  deceived  by  the  freer  customs  of  pastoral 
life,  counsels  Sarah  to  get  a  veil  and  shade  her  face  altogether  with 
the  kind  of  veil  worn  by  women  in  the  towns. 

Communication  by  Signs. 

I  SAMUEL  xx.  20:  'And  I  will  shoot  three  arrows  on  the  side  thereof,  as 
though  I  shot  at  a  mark.' 

Question. — Did  not  Jonathan  make  a  needless  mystery  of  this 
communication  with  David,  especially  as,  after  the  formal  signs,  he 
ventured  upon  personal  i?itercourse  with  him  ? 

Answer.— Jonathan  was  placed  in  very  difficult  circumstances  ; 
and  we  must  carefully  distinguish  between  what  actually  happened, 
and  what  he  feared  might  happen,  and  therefore  must  be  guarded 
against.  David  ran  serious  risks  in  thus  venturing  into  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  enraged  Saul.  Jonathan  ran  very  serious  risks  in 
venturing  to  communicate  with  his  friend.  Saul  was  so  suspicious 
of  Jonathan  that  he  would  hardly  let  him  leave  his  presence,  and  it 
was  most  unlikely  that  he  would  allow  him  to  leave  the  vicinity  of 
the  court  without  having  one  of  the  officers  attendant  upon  him.  In 
that  case  he  could  only  convey  information  to  David  through  some 
sign  previously  agreed  on  between  them. 

Things  turned  out  very  much  better  than  Jonathan  could  possibly 


344      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

have  anticipated.  Under  the  excuse  of  going  to  practise  archery, 
Jonathan  managed  to  get  away  from  the  court  with  no  other 
attendant  than  a  little  lad  to  carry  his  arrows.  But  he  had  to  be 
cautious,  as  even  this  lad  might  tell  on  him.  So  he  carried  through 
the  sign  just  as  he  had  arranged  with  David ;  he  sent  back  the  boy 
with  the  arrows,  and  then  he  could  venture  safely  upon  a  brief 
converse  with  his  friend.  The  boy  was  quite  unsuspicious.  If  he 
thought  that  his  master  soon  got  tired  of  his  practising  that  day,  it 
would  be  but  a  passing  thought  to  one  who  had  been  taught  implicitly 
to  obey. 

We  need  not  hesitate  to  say  that,  by  their  very  nature,  Eastern 
people  prefer  scheming  and  roundabout  and  half-deceptive  ways  of 
acting  to  those  which  we  consider  blunt  and  straightforward.  They 
enjoy  acting  by  signs,  and  getting  up  little  plots  ;  and  there  may 
have  been  something  of  this  disposition  even  in  Jonathan. 

Cursing  the  Day. 

JOB  iii.  8  :  '  Let  them  curse  it  that  curse  the  day,  who  are  ready  to  rouse  up 
leviathan '  (Rev.  Ver. ). 

Question. — On  what  popular  astronomical  notions  is  this  poetical 
figure  based? 

Answer. — The  general  idea  of  the  first  clause  of  this  verse  seems 
to  be  this,  *  Let  those  who  proclaim  days  unlucky  or  accursed  curse 
that  day  as  pre-eminently  so ;  or  let  them  recollect  that  day  as  a 
standard  or  sample  of  cursing.  "Let  it  be  as  cursed  as  Job's  birth- 
day.'" The  Speaker's  Commentary  thinks  there  is  evidently  an 
allusion  to  ancient  and  widespread  superstitions  :  *  One  of  the  earliest 
and  most  natural  corruptions  of  religious  feeling  was  a  desperate 
struggle  against  the  powers  of  nature ;  the  sorcerer  was  believed,  and 
believed  himself,  to  be  able  to  arrest  the  course  of  day  and  night  by 
incantations.  It  does  not  follow  that  Job  adopted  the  belief,  though 
he  found  in  it  apt  expression  of  his  feelings. 

The  second  clause  was  translated,  in  the  Authorised  Version, 
*  who  are  ready  to  raise  up  their  mourning.'  If  that  translation  could 
stand,  the  allusion  would  be  to  the  hired  mourners  of  the  East,  who 
clamorously  bewail  family  calamities.  But  the  Revised  Version  is 
undoubtedly  the  correct  one  in  this  case.  Leviathan  is  the  crocodile, 
used  here  as  a  symbol  of  the  dragon,  the  enemy  of  light,  who,  in 
old  Eastern  traditions,  is  conceived  as  ready  to  swallow  up  sun  and 
moon,  and  plunge  creation  in  original  chaos  and  darkness. 

Wordsworth  says,  without  approving  of  the  suggestion,  because  he 


CURSING  THE  DAY.  345 

prefers  a  vague  spiritualizing  of  the  passage :  '  Some  modern  expositors 
suppose  that  there  is  a  reference  here  to  the  Oriental  mythology,  in 
which  it  was  imagined  that  there  is  a  great  dragon  among  the  heavenly 
bodies  (called  in  Hindu  rdhii)  who  is  subject  to  incantations,  and 
who  chases  the  sun  and  moon,  in  order  to  swallow  them  up  in 
darkness.' 

Herodotus  reports  a  people  of  Africa,  living  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mount  Atlas,  who  were  accustomed  to  curse  the  day  and  the  sun. 
He  says  :  '  Of  all  mankind,  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge,  the 
Atlantes  alone  have  no  distinction  of  names  ;  the  body  of  the  people 
are  termed  Atlantes,  but  their  individuals  have  no  appropriate 
appellation.  When  the  sun  is  at  the  highest,  they  heap  on  it 
reproaches  and  execrations,  because  their  country  and  themselves 
are  parched  by  its  rays.' 

So  far  as  we  can  trace  the  associations  of  the  passage,  it  appears 
that  leviathan  was  regarded  as  the  dragon,  an  astro-mythological 
being,  which  has  its  place  in  the  heavens.  Whether  it  be  the  con- 
stellation still  known  by  the  name  '  Draco,'  or  Dragon,  or  whether  it 
be  Serpens  or  Hydra,  constellations  lying  further  south,  it  is  not 
possible  to  decide.  But  the  dragon,  in  ancient  popular  opinion,  had 
the  power  to  follow  the  sun  and  moon,  to  enfold,  or  even  to  swallow 
them,  and  thus  cause  night.  Eastern  magicians  pretended  to  possess 
the  power  of  rousing  up  the  dragon  to  make  war  upon  the  sun 
and  moon.  Whenever  they  wished  for  darkness  they  had  but  to 
<:urse  the  day  and  hound  on  the  dragon  to  extinguish  for  a  time  the 
lamp  that  enlightened  the  world.  Job,  in  hi?  bittetness,  curses  the 
day  of  his  birth,  and  utters  the  wish  that  those  who  control 
leviathan  would,  or  could,  blot  that  day  and  its  deeds  from  the  page 
ot  history. 


HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


NEW  TESTAMENT. 


Salt  Swept    Out. 

MATTHEW  v.  13  :  'If  the  salt  have  lost  its  savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted ? 
it  is  thenceforth  good  for  nothing,  but  to  be  cast  out,  and  trodden  under  foot  of 
men.' 

Question. — Is  this  a  strong  poetical  figure  of  speech,  or  is  it  based 
upon  actual  observation  of  facts  of  Eastern  life  ? 

Answer. — The  salt  of  Palestine  differs  materially  from  that  with 
which  we  are  familiar,  as  obtained  from  salt-rocks  or  salt-water,  and 
carefully  purified.  There  is  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  salt  on  the 
southern  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Robinson  describes  a  mountain  of 
fossil  salt  in  that  district,  which  is  five  miles  in  length,  and  one  of 
the  chief  sources  of  the  salt  in  the  sea  itself.  Saltpits,  formed  in  the 
marshes  at  the  southern  end  of  the  lake,  are  completely  coated  with 
salt,  which  is  deposited  periodically  by  the  rising  of  the  waters.  It 
was  the  belief  of  the  Jews  that  salt  would,  by  exposure  to  the  air, 
lose  its  virtue,  and  become  saltless.  Maundrell  gives  some  support 
to  this  notion  by  his  assertion  that  he  found  the  surface  of  a  salt- 
rock  in  this  condition. 

It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  the  above  passage  was  regarded 
as  other  than  a  strong  figure  of  speech,  or  illustration,  until 
Dr.  Thomson,  the  writer  of  *  The  Land  and  the  Book,'  recorded  for 
us  the  precise  Eastern  association.  Now  we  know  that  our  Lord 
literally  described  a  scene  of  everyday  Eastern  life.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  striking  things  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Thomson. 
He  says  :  '  It  is  plainly  implied  that  salt,  under  certain  conditions  so 
generally  known  as  to  permit  him  to  found  his  instruction  upon 
them,  did  actually  lose  its  saltness ;  and  our  only  business  is  to  dis- 
cover these  conditions,  not  to  question  their  existence.  Nor  is  this 
difficult.  I  have  often  seen  just  such  salt,  and  the  identical  disposi- 
tion of  it  that  our  Lord  has  mentioned.  A  merchant  of  Sidon  having 
farmed  of  the  Government  the  revenue  derived  from  the  importation 
of  salt,  brought  over  an  immense  quantity  from  the  marshes  of 
Cyprus — enough,  in  fact,  to  supply  the  whole  province  for  at  least 
twenty  years.  This  he  had  transferred  to  the  mountains,  to  cheat 
the  Government  out  of  some  small  percentage.  Sixty-five  houses  in 
June — Lady  Stanhope's  village — were  rented  and  filled  with  salt. 
These  houses  have  merely  earthen  floors,  and  the  salt  next  the 
ground  is  in  a  few  years  entirely  spoiled.  I  saw  large  quantities  of 


SALT  SWEPT  OUT.  347 

it  literally  thrown  into  the  street,  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of  men 
and  beasts.  It  was  "  good  for  nothing."  Similar  magazines  are 
common  in  this  country,  and  have  been  from  remote  ages,  as  we 
learn  from  history  both  sacred  and  profane ;  and  the  sweeping  out  of 
the  spoiled  salt  and  casting  it  into  the  street,  are  actions  familiar  to 

All  men It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  salt  of  this  country^ 

when  in  contact  with  the  earth,  or  the  rain  and  sun,  does  become 
insipid  and  useless.  From  the  manner  in  which  it  is  gathered, 
much  earth  and  other  impurities  are  necessarily  connected  with  it. 
Not  a  little  of  it  is  so  impure  that  it  cannot  be  used  at  all,  and  such 
salt  soon  effloresces  and  turns  to  dust — not  to  fruitful  soil,  however. 
It  is  not  only  good  for  nothing  itself,  but  it  actually  destroys  all  fertility 
wherever  it  is  thrown,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  it  is  cast  into  the 
street.  There  is  a  sort  of  verbal  verisimilitude  in  the  manner  in  which 
our  Lord  alludes  to  the  act — "  It  is  cast  out"  and  "trodden  under  foot." 
So  troublesome  is  this  corrupted  salt,  that  it  is  carefully  swept  up, 
carried  forth,  and  thrown  into  the  street.  There  is  no  place  about 
the  house,  yard,  or  garden  where  it  can  be  tolerated.  No  man  will 
allow  it  to  be  thrown  on  to  his  field,  and  the  only  place  for  it  is  the 
street ;  and  there  it  is  cast,  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of  men.' 

Release  by  'Corban.' 

MATTHEW  xv.  5,  6  :  *  But  ye  say,  Whosoever  shall  say  to  his  father  or  his 
mother,  It  is  a  gift,  by  whatsoever  thou  mightest  be  profited  by  me  ;  and  honour 
not  his  father  or  his  mother,  he  shall  be  free.  That  wherewith  thou  mightest  have 
been  profited  by  me  is  given  to  God  '  (Rev.  Ver.}. 

Question. —  What  explanation  can  be  given  of  this  immoral 
Rabbinical  custom  ? 

Answer. — So  great  was  the  solemnity  attached  to  vows,  whether 
they  were  rightly  or  wrongly  made,  that  the  Rabbins  were  prepared 
to  argue  that  it  was  of  less  importance  that  parents  should  be 
honoured,  than  that  a  vow  should  be  broken.  It  is  the  universal 
penalty  that  follows  on  attaching  undue  importance  to  forms,  that 
presently  they  come  to  override  even  the  great  natural  laws  of 
human  associations,  and  the  Divinely  announced  commandments  of 
the  Decalogue.  Ecclesiastical  rules  come  to  be  valued  above 
Divine  laws;  and  ecclesiastical  rules  can  be  made  to  excuse  the 
neglect  of  the  first  and  essential  human  duties. 

This  Rabbinical  custom  is  not,  however,  generally  understood, 
and,  indeed,  it  is  so  repulsive  to  all  men  of  noble  and  generous  feel- 
ing, that  it  is  difficult  to  secure  for  it  a  patient  consideration.  It 
seems  to  have  been  established  as  a  principle  that  any  man  was  at 
liberty  to  make  a  vow  consecrating  his  property,  or  any  portion  of  it, 


348     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

to  the  service  of  the  Temple,  after  his  decease ;  or  even  during 
his  life,  with  the  understanding  that  he  would  keep  the  use  of  it 
so  long  as  he  needed.  Properly  speaking,  such  '  devotements ' 
ought  always  to  be  thankofferings  for  special  mercies  received,  and 
they  ought  only  to  have  been  accepted  when  they  had  such  a 
religious  feeling  inspiring  them.' 

But  such  a  custom  of  *  devotements '  was  open  to  serious  abuse 
by  unprincipled  men.  If  a  man's  property  was  in  peril  of  being 
seized  by  his  creditor,  he  could  at  least  save  the  life-use  of  it  by 
making  it  a  gift  to  the  Temple.  And  if  any  special  claim — as  by 
parents  or  brothers — was  made  on  a  certain  portion  of  his  property, 
he  successfully  evaded  the  claim  by  affirming  that  the  particular  por- 
tion had  been  devoted,  by  a  vow,  to  the  service  of  God.  '  Corban ' 
denotes  anything  offered  to  God  or  the  service  of  the  Temple. 
'Almost  every  possession  a  man  had  might  be  rendered  "  Corban  "  by 
him,  even  his  own  person;  and,  when  once  offered  to  God,  the 
article  was  sacred,  and  could  on  no  account  be  turned  to  a  secular 
use  until  redeemed.  All  that  was  necessary  was  that  a  man  should 
say  respecting  a  given  thing,  "  May  this  be  as  the  Temple  to  me ;"  or, 
"  as  the  altar,"  etc. ;  or,  "as  the  (sacred)  fire,"  etc. ;  or,  "as  the  sacrifice 
to  me."  Thereupon  a  man,  being  displeased  with  his  aged  or  poor 
parents,  might  free  himself  from  all  obligation  to  support  them  by 
merely  pronouncing  one  of  these  forms;  and  then,  when  either  father  or 
mother  appealed  to  him  for  aid,  he  would  say,  "  Whatever  I  might 
have  bestowed  on  you  is  now  Corban."  And  the  Pharisees,  as 
Christ  complains,  insisted  on  the  fulfilment  of  this  execrable  vow, 
even  though  it  necessitated  the  violation  of  natural  instinct,  as  well 
as  the  command,  "  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother."  In  fact,  there 
was  no  duty  a  villain  might  not  shun  by  this  infamous  procedure.' 

The  Talmud  actually  teaches  that  everyone  ought  to  honour  his 
father  and  his  mother,  or  to  support  them  if  they  were  poor,  unless 
he  has  vowed  to  the  contrary.  We  cannot  wonder  that  such  abomi- 
nable doctrines  excited  our  Lord's  utmost  indignation,  and  drew 
from  Him  one  of  His  severest  censures. 

Anointing    the    Sick. 

JAMES  v.  14  :  '  Is  any  sick  among  you  ?  let  him  call  for  the  elders  of  the  church  ; 
and  let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.' 

Difficulty. — There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  reasonable  connection 
between  anointing  with  oil  and  praying^  and  there  is  no  other  case  in 
which  such  use  of  oil  is  taught  as  a  Christian  duty. 

Explanation. — Instead  of  making  a  careful  inquiry  into  the 
ordinary  use  of  oil  by  the  people  of  Eastern  countries,  and  in  that 


ANOINTING  THE  SICK.  349 

direction  seeking  for  the  explanation  of  the  allusions  made  by 
St.  James,  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  associate  this  anointing  of  the 
;ick  with  the  official  anointing  of  priests  and  kings,  and,  perhaps, 
)rophets.  In  this  way  a  symbolical  and  sacramental  character  has 
)een  given  to  what  is  really  a  simple  custom  of  ordinary  family  life. 
This  verse  offers  an  illustrative  instance  of  the  common  mistake  of 
eekmg  extraordinary  explanations  of  Scripture,  when  a  very  simple 
md  everyway  satisfactory  explanation  lay  close  at  hand. 

Oil  is  in  familiar  use  in  the  East  as  an  article  of  the  toilet.  It 
akes  very  much  the  place  for  them  of  our  pomades  and  scents. 
But  it  seems  that  the  use  of  oil  for  the  toilet  was  regarded  as  a  sign 
>f  health,  and  the  neglect  of  oil  was  just  as  precisely  the  sign  that  a 
nan  was  out  of  health.  Those  who  were  sick  were  not  allowed  to  be- 
inointed,  nor  were  those  who  were  passing  through  a  time  of  mourning. 

The  ancient  customs  and  sentiments  in  relation  to  anointing  may 
>e  effectively  illustrated  by  our  customs,  or  the  custom  of  our  fathers,, 
n  connection  with  the  shaving  of  the  beard.  The  man  who  is  ill 
icither  troubles  about  shaving,  nor  will  his  friends  trouble  him  ;  and 
he  half-grown  beard  is  a  sign  that  the  man  is  sick.  As  soon  as  he 
;ets  better  and  begins  to  take  his  place  again  in  life,  he  will  be  sure 

0  shave,   and   show  due  regard  to  his  personal  appearance.     We 
mow  the  sick  man  of  the  West  is  better  by  his  asking  for  the  shaving 
nstruments.     We  know  the  sick  man  of  the  East  is  better  by  his 
sking  for  the  oil  necessary  to  make  his  toilet. 

It  may  be  expressed  precisely  thus  :  '  The  sick  man  will  neither 
rouble  himself,  nor  be  troubled  about  shaving ;  but  as  soon  as  he 
>egins  to  recover  he  will  return  to  his  old  and  cleanly  habits.  So  the 
ncients  would  neglect  daily  anointing  while  under  sickness,  and 
heir  return  to  their  old  ways  was  the  sign  of  recovering  health. 
Vhen,  therefore,  James  enjoins  the  elders  to  anoint  the  sick — that 
5,  at  once  make  his  usual  toilet — after  prayers  for  his  restoration,  he 
eally  says  just  this,  "  Pray  for  him  with  full  faith,  and  show  that  you 
ave  such  strong  faith,  by  acting  towards  him  as  if  he  really  were 
ecovered.  Whatever  things  ye  ask  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye 
eceive  them,  and  ye  shall  have  them.  Anoint  the  sick  man  as  if  he 
fere  restored  to  health  again." '  The  elders  were  to  *  help  him  rise 
•om  the  bed,  wash,  anoint  his  head  and  dress,  and  rejoice  with  him 

1  view  of  the  healing  mercies  of  God.' 

If  they  had  faith,  they  should  give  that  faith  active  expression  ; 
icy  should  '  show  it  by  their  works ';  the  particular  works  which 
•ould  best  show  it  in  this  case  were,  that  they  should  at  once  pro- 
eed  to  wash,  dress,  and  anoint  the  sick  man,  as  if  they  were  quite 
ure  that  God  had  heard  their  prayer  and  made  him  well. 


350      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

With  this  may  be  compared  our  Lord's  demand  for  some  acl 
which  would  give  an  outward  expression  to  faith.  Thus,  in  the 
case  of  the  man  with  the  withered  hand,  our  Lord  commanded  him 
to  *  stretch  forth  his  hand.'  The  man  might  fairly  have  said,  'That 
is  just  what  I  cannot  do.'  But  he  could  if  he  believed.  So  in  the 
case  of  the  paralyzed  man.  Jesus  said,  '  Take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk/ 
A  paralyzed  man  bidden  to  walk  !  But  he  could  if  he  believed,  and 
the  trying  was  the  show  of  faith. 

As  some  authority  may  be  desired  for  an  explanation  which  may 
be  accepted  only  with  hesitation,  on  the  very  ground  of  its  extreme 
simplicity,  we  give  the  following  passages  from  Van  Lennep's  Bible 
Customs  in  Bible  Lands,  pp.  133,  134: 

*  The  use  of  oil  in  anointing  the  body  appears  to  have  been  general 
in  ancient  times  among  all  the  nations  dwelling  around  the 
Mediterranean.  Allusions  to  this  use  abound  in  all  ancient  authors. 
The  heroes  of  Homer  are  described  by  him  as  restoring  their  wearied 
limbs  after  a  battle  by  frictions  of  oil.  This  was  Alexander's 
practice.  It  was  Pompey's  daily  habit  also,  as  well  as  that  of  all  the 
wealthy  Romans.  We  find  this  custom  alluded  to  in  the  Scriptures, 
both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  It  is  mentioned  as  forming  a 
habitual  part  of  the  toilet  on  special  occasions  (Ruth  iii.  3  ;  2  Sam. 
xii.  20;  Micah  vi.  15) — not  to  be  indulged  in  in  case  of  mourning 
(2  Sam.  xiv.  2  ;  Dan.  x.  2,  3).  The  head  was  anointed  in  connection 
with  the  daily  recurring  ablution,  as  mentioned  in  Matt.  vi.  1 7. 

The  'extreme  unction'  practised  by  the  Roman  Church  is  defended 
by  a  misinterpretation  of  the  passage  in  James,  for  extreme  unction 
is  never  applied  until  it  is  considered  certain  that  the  patient  is 
about  to  die ;  whereas  the  words  in  James,  as  well  as  in  Mark  vi.  13, 
connect  anointing  the  sick  with  recovery.  We  do  not  consider  that 
in  these  cases  oil  was  used  either  as  a  means  or  a  symbol ;  the 
anointing  was  simply  an  exercise  of  faith,  similar  to  Peter  and  John's 
saying  to  the  lame  man  at  the  gate  of  the  Temple  called  Beautiful, 
'  Rise  up  and  walk.'  The  elders  of  the  church,  after  praying  for  the 
sick  man,  were  to  treat  him  as  though  he  were  recovered. 

Fire-Salting. 

MARK  ix.  49 :  '  For  everyone  shall  be  salted  with  fire.' 
Difficulty. — Since  salt  and  fire  are  such  different  agencies,  it  is 

perplexing  thus  to  find  them  associated  together. 

Explanation. — This   is     >ne    of  the  most  difficult  passages  in 

Mark's  Gospel,  both  the  meaning  of  the  terms  and  the  connection 


FIRE-SALTING.  351 

vith  what  goes  before  being  doubtful  and  obscure.  Among  the 
-ariotis  interpretations  which  have  been  proposed,  one  or  two  points 
eem  to  be  agreed  upon,  which  may  therefore  be  first  stated,  as 
i  basis  for  determining  the  other  questions.  It  is  commonly  admitted 
hat  the  last  clause  of  this  verse  is  an  allusion  to,  if  not  a  direct 
potation  from,  the  law  of  sacrifice  in  Lev.  ii.  13,  from  the  Septuagint 
ersion  of  which  it  differs  only  by  the  change  of  *  gift '  to  '  sacrifice,' 
i  term  used  in  the  older  classics  to  denote  the  sacrificial  act  or  ser- 
•ice,  but  in  later  Greek  extended  to  the  sacrificial  victims,  or  the 
inimals  admitted  to  the  altar.  It  is  also  agreed  that  there  is  allusion 

0  the  antiseptic  and  conservative  effects  of  salt,  and  that  these  are 
iguratively  transferred  to  fire.      But  what  fire  is  meant,  and  in  what 
•ense  it  is  conservative,  and  how  the  whole  verse  is  related  to  what 
;oes  before  and  follows,  these  are  questions  as  to  which  there  is  a 
;reat  diversity  of  judgment.     The  different  hypotheses  entitled  to 
ittention  may,  however,  be  reduced  to  two,  essentially  distinguished 
>y   the  fact  that  one  of  them  regards  this  as  a  promise,  and  the 
)ther  as  a  threatening  or  warning.      According  to  the  former  view, 
>ur  Lord,  referring  to  the  well-known  requisition  of  the  law  already 
nentioned,  that    every   sacrificial  victim    must  be   salted — that  is, 
ubbed  or  sprinkled  with  salt — and  also  to  the  universal  association 
)etween  salt  and  soundness  or  purity  of  meats,  avails  Himself  of 
hese  associations  to  assure  His  hearers  that  every  one  whom  God 
ipproves,  or  towards  whom  He  has  purposes  of  mercy,  though  He  may 
)ass  through  the  fire  of  persecution  and  affliction,  including  the  painful 
;elf-denial  recommended  in  the  previous  context,  will  be  purified  and 
;aved  thereby ;  or,  as  an  offering  to  God,  salted  with  such  fire,  just 
is  the  literal  sacrifice  was  salted  at  the    altar.      This  is  certainly 

1  good  sense  in  itself,  and  favoured  by  the  strong  analogy  of  the 
iery  trial  which  Peter  mentions  in  his  First  Epistle  (iv.  12).      The 
Ejections  to  it  are,  that  it  gives  to  fire  a  sense  entirely  different  from 
hat  in  the  preceding  context,  and  that  it  does  not  explain  the  logical 
:onnection  indicated  by  the  '  for.'     The  other  explanation  supposes 
he  connection  to  be  this  : — Our  Lord  had  six  times  spoken  of  eternal 
orments  as  unquenchable  fire,  from  which  no  man  could  escape  without 
;elf-denial  and  the  mortification  of  sin.      The  immediately  preceding 
rerse  concludes  with  the  solemn  repetition  of  that  fearful  saying, 

Where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched,'  *.&, 
:heir  sufferings  are  endless  and  unceasing.  But  how  can  the  subject 
)f  such  sufferings  escape  annihilation  ?  By  being  kept  in  existence 
or  the  very  purpose  of  enduring  them.  This  awful  fact  he  clothes 
n  a  figurative  form,  derived  from  the  sacrificial  ritual  of  Moses. 


352      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Every  victim  must  be  rubbed  with  salt,  the 'symbol  of  incorruptioa 
and  preservation  ;  so  these  victims  shall  be  salted,  not  with  salt,  but 
fire.  The  Divine  wrath  that  consumes  them  will  preserve  them,  *>., 
from  annihilation — not  from  suffering,  but  for  suffering.  It  is  no 
objection  to  this  view  of  the  passage  that  it  takes  salt  in  a  sense 
not  justified  by  usage,  which  requires  it  to  mean  preservation  for  a 
good  end,  or  salvation.  This  is  a  mere  assumption,  just  as  easy  to- 
deny  as  to  affirm.  The  essential  idea  of  the  figure  is  preservation 
from  destruction,  or  continued  existence,  and  may  just  as  well  be 
used  both  in  a  good  and  bad  sense,  as  leaven  (which  the  law 
excluded  from  all  offerings  no  less  strictly  than  it  required  salt)  is 
used  in  both ;  and  just  as  we  might  say  that  the  lost  sinner  will  be 
saved  from  annihilation,  although  not  from  ruin.  On  the  other 
hand,  this  interpretation  has  the  advantage  of  continuing  the  train 
of  thought  unbroken,  taking  fire  in  the  same  sense  as  throughout  the 
previous  context,  and  concluding  this  terrific  warning  in  a  manner 
far  more  appropriate  than  a  promise  of  salvation  by  the  fire  of  suffer- 
ing, however  pleasing  and  delightful  in  itself. — (/.  A.  Alexander.) 

Olshausen  thinks  the  sense  of  the  passage  is  this  :  *  Because  of  the 
general  sinfulness  of  the  race,  every  individual  must  be  salted  with 
fire,  either,  on  the  one  hand,  by  his  entering,  of  his  own  free  will,  on 
a  course  of  self-denial  and  earnest  purification  from  his  iniquities;  or, 
on  the  other  hand,  by  his  being  carried,  against  his  will,  away  to  the 
place  of  punishment.'  He  adds  that  *  the  operation  of  salt  is  closely 
allied  to  that  of  fire.  The  fire-baptism  is  the  purification  of  the 
saints  through  the  salt  of  self-denial.' 

Prophetic  Dress. 

MATTHEW  iii.  4  :  '  Now  John  himself  had  his  raiment  of  camel's  hair,  and  a 
leathern  girdle  about  his  loins.' 

Question. — Does  this  represent  the  usual  dress  of  the  class  of 
men  known  as  l prophets]  or  was  it  a  designed  imitation  of  the  great 
Elijah  ? 

Answer. — This  kind  of  dress  is  in  so  striking  a  way  contrasted 
with  our  dress,  that  we  naturally  think  it  must  have  been  the  badge 
of  a  class.  It  is  first  necessary  to  recall  to  mind  the  fact,  that  the 
Eastern  dress  usually  consisted  of  a  long  under-garment,  fastened 
round  the  loins  with  a  girdle,  and  an  outer  cloak  or  robe,  which  was- 
readily  taken  off  when  work  had  to  be  done.  The  legs  and  feet 
were  left  bare,  except  for  the  very  light  sandal  used  in  walking. 

In  the  towns  great  attention  was  paid  to  dress,  and  garments  were 


PROPHETIC  DRESS.  353 

sold  of  fine  materials,  dyed  with  beautiful  colours ;  but  in  the  desert 
districts,  and  amongst  the  nomadic  tribes,  dress  was  altogether 
simpler,  and  was  often  made  from  homespun  cloth,  out  of  the 
materials  provided  by  the  large  flocks  of  camels  or  sheep  or  goats. 
The  characteristic  dress  of  Elijah  was  not,  therefore,  so  strange  or 
so  striking  as  we  too  easily  imagine  it  to  have  been.  It  was  the  dress 
of  the  people  of  the  wilder  part  of  Gilead,  the  usual  garb  of  the  Arab 
races,  to  which  he  seems  in  part  to  have  belonged.  The  shirt,  or 
inner  coat,  or  tunic,  was  made  of  the  long  hair  of  the  camel ;  perhaps 
the  expression  'camel's  hair'  was  a  recognised  trade  term  for  a 
certain  article  of  merchandise,  for  we  have  read  of  goat's  hair  or  wool 
as  being  sold  under  the  name  *  camel's  hair.'  Some  idea  of  the 
material  is  obtained  by  remembering  that  of  it  the  tent-cloths  were 
made.  The  leathern  girdle  was  provided  from  the  skin  of  the 
animals,  and  the  mantle  or  cape  was,  in  all  probability,  a  sheep-skin 
with  the  wool  left  on — a  kind  of  dress  still  worn  by  the  peasants  of 
Palestine. 

We  are  not  told  of  any  prophet  before  Elijah  who  wore  a  dis- 
tinctive set  of  clothing,  and  we  do  not  understand  that  Elisha,  in  this 
matter,  followed  his  master's  example.  But  there  are  indications 
that,  later  on,  this  kind  of  dress  became  established  as  the  prophetic 
garb.  The  only  passage,  however,  that  we  can  find  strictly  relevant 
is  Zech.  xiii.  4,  where  reference  is  made  to  the  prophet,  and  it  is  said, 
as  if  this  were  the  dress  of  the  order  and  a  sign  of  the  calling, 
'  Neither  shall  he  wear  a  rough  garment  to  deceive.'  So  far  as  a 
prophet  made  a  protest  for  God  against  the  luxuries  and  extrava- 
gances of  an  age,  it  might  be  necessary  for  him  to  wear  such  simple 
clothing  as  would  itself  be  a  reproach  and  a  testimony  \  and  from 
this  point  of  view  we  can  understand  the  moral  and  educational 
value  of  the  distinctive  garb  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  or  so-called 
Quakers. 

Very  much  may  be  said  for  the  view  that  John  the  Baptist  under- 
stood his  mission  to  be  to  do,  for  his  age,  very  much  what  Elijah 
had  done  for  his;  and  that,  therefore,  Elijah  became  a  model 
to  him.  We  can  also  see  that  his  manner  of  dress  and  living  was  in 
strict  accordance  with  his  message.  Both  Elijah  and  he  had  to 
demand  repentance.  Both  had  to  testify  against  the  luxuries  of  an 
over-refined  age.  Both  had  to  make  a  striking  impression  of  their 
separateness  from  the  evils  of  their  age.  Both  had  to  be  in  their  own 
persons  'spectacles,'  persons  drawing  the  attention  of  all  men  to 
themselves,  in  order  that  attention  might  be  obtained  for  their 
message.  And  in  this,  sufficient  reason  may  be  found  for  John's 


354     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES 

imitation  of  Elijah,  without  assuming  that  the  camel's  hai-r  tunic, 
girdle  of  a  strip  of  hide,  and  sheep-skin  mantle,  were  the  common 
garb  of  all  Old  Testament  prophets.  No  hint  is  given  us  that  even 
Jonah  had  any  distinctive  dress.  Stanley  tells  us  that  Bedouins  or 
Dervishes,  dressed  almost  precisely  as  Elijah  and  John,  are  still 
familiar  sights  in  the  East. 

The  view  that  John's  dress  was  not  that  of  the  prophetic  class  is 
supported  by  Kitto,  who  says  :  '  He  was  clad  in  raiment  which  would 
wear  well,  and  required  no  care — such  as  Elijah  and  other  ancient 
prophets  wore,  not  as  a  distinctive  of  their  profession  (for  John  had 
not  yet  been  called  to  be  a  prophet),  but  as  the  dress  of  poor  men, 
and  best  suited  to  their  condition.  It  is  a  dress  which  may  still  be 
seen  every  day  in  the  Syro-Arabian  countries  :  a  rough,  but  stout  and 
serviceable  robe  of  camel's  hair,  or  of  camel's  hair  and  wool  combined, 
bound  about  the  waist  by  a  broad  girdle  of  stiff  leather. 

*  Go  up  Higher.' 

LUKE  xiv.  10:  'That  when  he  that  bade  thee  cometh,  he  may  say  onto  thee, 
Friend,  go  up  higher  :  then  shalt  thou  have  worship  in  the  presence  of  them  that 
sit  at  meat  with  thee. 

Question. — Does  this  involve  that,  in  Eastern  /eastings,  the 
respect  in  which  each  guest  was  held  was  intimated  by  the  position  in 
which  he  was  placed  ? 

Answer. — Yes,  there  was  great  formality  in  the  arrangements 
made  for  feasts.  Even  in  Roman  dinner-parties,  which  were  usually 
composed  of  nine  persons,  three  reclining  on  each  triclinium,  the 
guest  of  the  evening  had  the  seat  of  honour,  in  the  centre  of  the 
middle  triclinium  ;  the  host  had  the  centre  of  the  one  side,  and  the 
next  most  honoured  guest  the  centre  of  the  remaining  side.  Each 
chief  person  had  his  chief  friends  on  the  right  and  left  of  him. 

Two  or  three  illustrations  of  the  Eastern  customs  may  be  given. 
Schulz  narrates  the  following  incident :  '  Towards  evening  the  eldest 
son  of  the  consul  (at  Jean  d'Acre,  the  ancient  Ptolemais)  conducted 
me  to  the  wedding-feast  of  a  considerable  Greek,  whose  father  is  a 
priest,  and  his  brother  secretary  to  the  Governor  of  Galilaea.  All 
the  guests  who  were  invited  assembled,  without  distinction,  in  a 
saloon,  where  they  were  inspected  by  the  master  of  the  ceremonies, 
and  some  had  to  move  higher  and  others  lower ;  and  thus  it 
happened  when  we  came,  that  two,  who  had  already  seated  them- 
selves at  the  top,  were  obliged  to  move  down  lower. 

Mr.  Morier^  giving  an  account  of  a  feast  he  attended  in  Persia, 
says  :  '  On  alighting  at  the  house  we  were  conducted  through  mean 


UP  HIGHER:  355 

and  obscure  passages  to  a  small  square  court,  surrounded  by  apart- 
ments, which  were  the  habitations  of  the  women,  who  had  been 
dislodged  for  the  occasion ;  and  as  we  entered  into  a  low  room,  we 
there  found  our  host  waiting  for  us,  with  about  a  dozen  more  of  his 
friends.  The  ambassador  from  England*  (whom  Mr.  Morier  ac- 
companied) '  was  placed  in  the  corner  of  honour,  near  the  window, 
and  his  host  next  to  him,  on  his  left  hand.  The  other  guests  were 
arranged  round  the  room,  according  to  their  respective  ranks. 
When  a  Persian  enters  an  assembly ....  measuring  with  his  eye 
the  degree  of  rank  to  which  he  holds  himself  entitled,  he  straightway 
wedges  himself  into  the  line  of  guests,  without  offering  any  apology 
for  the  disturbance  which  he  produces.  The  master  of  the  enter- 
tainment has,  however,  the  privilege  of  placing  anyone  as  high  in 
the  ranks  of  the  assembly  as  he  may  choose,  and  we  saw  an  instance 
of  it  on  this  occasion ;  for,  when  the  assembly  was  nearly  full, 
the  Governor  of  Kashan,  a  man  of  humble  mien,  though  of  con- 
siderable rank,  came  in,  and  had  seated  himself  at  the  lowest  place, 
the  host,  after  having  testified  his  particular  attentions  to  him  by 
numerous  expressions  of  welcome,  pointed  with  his  hand  to  an 
upper  seat  in  the  assembly,  to  which  he  desired  him  to  move,  which 
he  accordingly  did/ 

With  the  formality  characteristic  of  the  Chinese,  their  hall  of 
audience  and  feasting  is  arranged  as  a  quadrangle,  the  table  along 
the  top,  and  ranges  of  seats  down  the  room  on  each  side.  The 
party  invited  enters,  bowing  as  he  advances,  and  is  invited  to  sit 
down,  which  he  does  by  taking  the  seat  at  the  bottom  of  the  line. 
He  is  scarcely  seated,  however,  before  he  is  told,  in  a  peremptory 
tone,  a  little  softened  by  the  melodious  accent  of  kindness,  to  *  come 
up  higher.'  As  soon  as  he  has  consented  to  this  new  arrangement, 
the  host  sits  down  on  the  seat  immediately  below  the  stranger,  and 
thus  awards  to  him  the  higher  or  more  honourable  place. 

Selection  of  Sacrifices. 

JOHN  vi.  27  :  '  Him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed.' 

Question. — Is  there  any  custom  in  relation  to  sacrifices  from  which 
this  figure  of  *  sealing '  is  taken  ? 

Answer. — It  was  an  established  custom,  in  countries  contiguous 
to  Judaea,  for  an  appointed  officer  to  examine  carefully  the  various 
animals  presented  for  sacrifice,  which  were  required  to  be  in  good 
form  and  healthy  condition,  and  to  affix  a  mark  or  seal  to  those  of 
which  he  was  enabled  to  approve. 

23—2 


356      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

There  is  a  passage  in  Herodotus,  having  reference  to  the  selection 
of  white  bulls  for  sacrifice  in  Egypt,  which  affords  an  effective  illus- 
tration :  *  If  they  find  one  black  hair  on  the  bull,  they  deem  him 
unclean.  That  they  may  know  this  with  certainty,  the  priest  ap- 
pointed for  this  purpose  examines  the  whole  animal,  both  standing 
up  and  lying  down.  If,  after  this  search,  the  animal  is  found  without 
blemish,  he  signifies  it  by  binding  a  label  to  his  horns ;  then,  ap- 
plying wax,  he  seals  it  with  his  ring,  and  the  beast  is  led  away.  To 
sacrifice  one  not  thus  sealed  is  deemed  a  capital  crime.' 

It  is  not  precisely  known  in  what  form  the  Jewish  officer  attested 
the  suitability  of  a  victim  for  sacrifice,  but  whatever  mark  was  placed 
upon  it  would  take  the  form  of  a  seal,  as  something  separating  it 
for  Divine  use.  In  this  sense  our  Lord  was  attested,  and  set  apart 
for  sacrifice,  by  God  the  Father.  This  association  of  the  passage 
affords  a  richer  meaning  than  the  more  common  idea  of  affixing  a 
seal  to  a  legal  document. 

Bringing  Sick  Folk  to  the  Hakim. 

MATTHEW  iv.  24  :  *  And  his  fame  went  throughout  all  Syria  :  and  they  brought 
unto  him  all  sick  people  ....  and  he  healed  them.' 

Question. —  Was  the  excitement  produced  by  the  healing  power  of 
Jesus  altogether  new,  or  was  this  the  usual  Eastern  way  of  seeking  the 
help  of  skilful  doctors  f 

Answer. — There  is  good  reason  for  thinking  that  our  Lord 
arrested  public  attention  mainly  as  a  skilful  physician.  It  would  not 
strike  them  that  His  methods  of  cure  were  so  novel  as  they  appear 
to  us.  There  was  often  as  little  apparent  connection  between  the 
remedies  used  by  their  Hakims  (physicians)  and  the  cures  they 
effected,  as  they  could  discern  between  the  formulae  or  actions  of 
Jesus,  and  the  results  that  followed.  The  main  purpose  of  our 
Lord's  miracles  of  healing,  so  far  as  the  people  were  concerned,  was 
to  draw  attention  to  Himself  and  to  His  message ;  to  prepare  open 
and  grateful  hearts  in  which  the  seed  of  His  truth  might  find  good 
soil 

So  far  as  we  can  learn  the  methods  of  the  physicians  in  the  time 
of  Christ,  we  understand  that  there  were  no  doctors  resident  in  the 
towns,  as  with  us,  to  whom  applications  had  to  be  made  in  cases  of 
need ;  but  men  at  times  rose  up,  having,  or  professing  to  have,  some 
'  specific '  for  a  certain  class  of  disease,  a  specific  medicine,  or  a 
specific  treatment.  Such  a  man  would  take  the  title  of  Hakim,  and 
journey  about  the  country,  everywhere  having  crowds  of  people 


BRINGING  SICK  FOLK  TO  THE  HAKIM.        357 

gathering  round  him,  bringing  their  sick  folk  to  the  healer.  The 
Eastern  doctor,  indeed,  is  best  represented  by  the  vendor  of  patent 
medicines  in  our  market-places.  Tidings  of  a  few  successful  cures 
would  run  swiftly  through  a  wide  district,  and  make  a  man's  fame 
quickly. 

Our  Lord  worked  in  the  lines  of  the  public  customs  and  senti- 
ments of  His  age.  His  supreme  aim  was  moral  teaching ;  His  means 
for  securing  an  audience  were  the  interest  awakened  in  one  who 
could  heal  bodily  diseases.  And  He  could.  He  was  the  true  power 
of  God ;  and,  for  that  very  reason,  aroused  an  amount  of  public 
attention,  which  the  mere  mountebank,  and  even  the  judicious  doctor, 
could  not  hope  to  command. 

Here,  also,  the  common  customs  of  Eastern  lands  differ  so 
materially  from  those  with  which  we  are  familiar,  that  the  incidents 
of  our  Lord's  life  seem  to  us  more  extraordinary  than  they  could 
have  appeared  to  them  among  whom  He  lived.  Eastern  customs 
steadfastly  abide,  and  we  give  two  descriptions  of  the  way  in  which 
Hakims  are  treated  at  the  present  day. 

Dean  Stanley  tells  us :  'It  was  after  a  walk  through  the  village  of 
Ehden,  beneath  the  mountain  of  the  cedars,  our  last  Syrian  expedi- 
tion, in  which  we  visited  several  of  the  churches  and  cottages  of  the 
place,  that  we  found  the  stairs  and  corridors  of  the  castle  of  the 
Maronite  chief,  Sheikh  Joseph,  lined  with  a  crowd  of  eager  appli- 
cants, "  sick  people  taken  with  divers  diseases,"  who,  hearing  that 
there  was  a  medical  man  in  the  party,  had  thronged  round  him, 
"beseeching  him  that  he  would  heal  them."  I  mention  this  incident 
because  it  illustrates  so  forcibly  those  scenes  in  the  Gospel  history, 
from  which  I  have  almost  of  necessity  borrowed  the  language  best 
fitted  to  express  the  eagerness,  the  hope,  the  anxiety  of  the  multitude 
who  had  been  attracted  by  the  fame  of  his  benevolent  influence.' 

And  Gadsby  says:  'When  Dr.  Richardson  was  in  Jerusalem, 
crowds  of  invalids,  the  halt,  the  blind,  the  lame,  the  sick  of  every 
description,  collected  from  all  quarters  around  him,  so  that  he  found 
it  impossible  to  satisfy  their  demands.  The  patients  seized  upon 
him,  as  if  only  he  stood  between  them  and  death.  They  fell  down 
before  him,  grasped  his  legs,  and  kissed  his  feet,  and  supplicated 
him,  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  to  prescribe  for  their  complaints. 
Whether  he  was  in  his  lodgings,  or  walked  the  streets,  or  sat  down 
in  the  market-place,  he  was  equally  beset.  No  sooner  had  he  pre- 
scribed for  one,  than  another  victim  of  disease  pathetically  assailed 
him,  and  kept  him  in  constant  employment  They,  indeed,  hunted 
him  over  town  and  country.' 


35*      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES 
The  Evil  of  Divorcements. 

MATTHEW  xix.  7  :  *  They  say  unto  Him,  Why  did  Moses  then  command  to  give 
a  writing  of  divorcement,  and  to  put  her  away.' 

Difficulty. — Usually  our  Lord  thoroughly  supported  Mosaic  teach- 
ings and  institutions,  what  was  there  in  this  case,  or  in  the  customs  of  His 
age,  which  led  Him  thus  to  oppose  the  Mosaic  regulation,  or  permission  ? 

Explanation. — If  a  permission  is  abused,  it  may  properly  be 
withdrawn.  There  are  conditions  which  make  it  better  that  even 
the  sacred  marriage-bond  should  be  severed.  Strictly  for  such  con- 
ditions the  Mosaic  system  provided.  When  formal  religion  took  the 
place  of  spiritual  religion,  the  Rabbins  busied  themselves  with  elaborat- 
ing the  condition^  on  which  divorce  could  be  allowed,  until  most 
false  impressions  came  to  prevail  in  relation  to  the  sanctity  of  the 
marriage-tie ;  and  our  Lord,  whose  life-work  was  to  restore  spiritual 
religion,  was  compelled  to  sweep  away  all  conditions  of  divorce,  both 
Rabbinical  and  Mosaic,  in  order  that  He  might  set  men  face  to  face 
with  the  primary  law  of  the  relations  of  the  sexes  to  each  other.  He 
swept  away  the  good  limitation  along  with  the  evil  additions,  when 
He  found  that  the  reasonable  limitation  was  thus  shamefully  abused 

The  Divine  idea  is  that,  upon  the  basis  of  a  pure  mutual  affection, 
two  lives,  that  of  the  man  and  the  woman,  should  be  so  intimately 
blended,  that  the  two  should  have  one  purpose,  one  endeavour,  be 
in  effect  one  flesh. 

But  as  soon  as  men  became  what  is  called  'civilized/  marriage 
was  made  an  instrument  for  securing  self-seeking  ends.  The  sexes 
were  brought  into  life-association  on  other  terms  than  mutual  affec- 
tion ;  and,  inevitably,  there  came  repulsions  from  one  another  out 
of  the  experience  of  the  married  state,  and  a  whole  host  of  moral 
evils  as  the  consequence  of  such  repulsions.  The  laws  of  civilized 
society  must  put  the  consequences  under  regulation,  and  arrange  the 
conditions  on  which  those  once  'joined  together'  may  be '  put  asunder. 

Rabbinism  seems  to  have  cared  neither  for  morals  nor  religion  in 
its  endeavours  to  secure  its  sectarian  ends ;  and  one  of  the  worst 
things  it  secured  was  a  most  perilous  freedom  of  divorce,  which 
tended  to  destroy  the  family  life,  and  to  open  a  wide  door  for  social 
immoralities.  A  society  can  only  keep  pure  by  maintaining  strict 
marriage  laws,  giving  right  of  divorcement  only  in  cases  of  adultery, 
and  possibly  also  of  personal  cruelty. 

Some  idea  of  the  shamefully  loose  character  of  Pharisaic  teachings 
on  this  subject  may  be  obtained  from  the  following  passage  :  *  The 
Rabbis  say,  "  If  anyone  see  a  woman  handsomer  than  his  wife,  he 


THE  EVIL  OF  DIVORCEMENTS.  359 

may  dismiss  his  wife  and  marry  that  woman."  Even  the  strict 
Schammai  held  that  if  a  wife  went  out  without  being  shrouded  in 
the  veil  which  Eastern  women  still  wear,  she  might  be  divorced ;  and 
hence  many  Rabbis  locked  up  their  wives  when  they  went  out. 
While  some  held  that  divorce  should  be  lawful  only  for  adultery, 
others,  like  Josephus,  claimed  the  right  to  send  away  their  wives  if 
they  were  not  pleased  with  their  behaviour.  The  school  of  Hillel 
even  maintained  that  if  a  wife  cooked  her  husband's  food  badly,  by 
over-salting  or  over-roasting  it,  he  might  put  her  away ;  and  he  might 
also  do  so  if  she  were  stricken  by  any  grievous  bodily  affliction.  The 
facility  of  divorce  among  the  Jews  had,  indeed,  become  so  great  a 
scandal,  even  among  their  heathen  neighbours,  that  the  Rabbis  were 
fain  to  boast  of  it  as  a  privilege  granted  to  Israel,  but  not  to  other 
nations. ' —  Geikie. 

Allen,  in  his  Modern  Judaism,  tells  us  that  '  Divorce  is  still  very 
common  among  the  Eastern  Jews ;  in  1856  there  were  sixteen  cases 
among  the  small  Jewish  population  of  Jerusalem.  In  fact,  a  Jew 
may  divorce  his  wife  at  any  time  or  from  any  cause,  he  being  himself 
the  sole  judge  ;  the  only  hindrance  is  that,  to  prevent  divorces  in  a 
mere  sudden  fit  of  spleen,  the  bill  of  divorce  must  have  the  con- 
currence of  three  Rabbis,  and  be  written  on  ruled  vellum,  containing 
neither  more  nor  less  than  twelve  lines ;  and  it  must  be  given  in  the 
presence  of  ten  witnesses.' 

Our  readers  will  be  interested  in  the  following  specimen  of  a 
modern  bill  of  divorcement : 

*  On  the  fourth  day  of  the  week,  on  the  eleventh  day  of  the  month 
Chisleu,  in  the  year  five  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty-four  from 
the  creation  of  the  world ;  according  to  the  computation  which  we 
follow  here  in  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  which  is  called  Amstelredam  ; 
situated  by  the  side  of  the  sea  called  Taya,  and  by  the  river  Amstel. 
I,  Abraham,  the  son  of  Benjamin,  surnamed  Wolff,  the  priest ;  and 
at  this  time  dwelling  in  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  which  is  called 
Amstelredam,  which  is  situated  by  the  seaside  called  Taya,  and  by 
the  river  Amstel ;  or  if  I  have  any  other  name,  or  surname,  or  my 
parents,  or  my  place,  or  the  place  of  my  parents  ;  by  my  own  free- 
will, without  any  compulsion,  do  put  away,  dismiss,  and  divorce 
thee,  my  wife  Rebekah,  the  daughter  of  Jonah  the  Levite ;  who  at 
this  time  resides  in  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  called  Amstelredam, 
situated  by  the  seaside  called  Taya,  and  by  the  river  Amstel ; 
or  if  thou  hast  any  other  name,  or  surname,  or  thy  parents, 
or  thy  place,  or  the  place  of  thy  parents :  Who  wast  hereto- 
fore my  wife;  but  now  I  put  thee  away,  dismiss,  and  divorce 


360      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

thee ;  so  that  from  this  time  thou  art  in  thine  own  power,  and  art  at 
thine  own  disposal,  and  mayest  be  married  to  any  other  man,  whom 
thou  pleasest ;  and  let  no  man  hinder  thee  in  my  name,  from  this 
day  forward,  and  for  ever ;  and  lo,  thou  art  free  to  any  man.  Let 
this  be  to  thee,  from  me,  a  bill  of  divorce,  an  instrument  of  dis- 
mission, and  a  letter  of  separation,  according  to  the  law  of  Moses 

and  Israel. 

1  SEALTIEL,  the  son  of  Paltiel,  witness. 
*  CALONYMUS,  the  son  of  Gabriel,  witness.' 

Van  Lennep,  writing  of  life  in  Western  Asia,  forcibly  illustrates  the 
evils  of  loose  notions  respecting  divorce :  *  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
actual  cause  of  divorce  is  not  adultery,  a  crime  punishable  with  death 
when  detected,  which,  however,  rarely  occurs.  The  usual  causes  of 
divorce  are  a  bad  temper  or  extravagance  in  the  wife,  and  the  cruel 
treatment  or  neglect  of  the  husband.  As  the  latter  is  not  obliged  to 
pay  the  wife's  dowry  when  she  sues  for  divorce,  he  often  treats  her  so 
badly  as  to  compel  her  to  appeal  to  the  judge  for  deliverance.  We 
have  known  a  man,  not  forty  years  of  age,  who  had  successively 
married  and  put  away  a  dozen  wives,  having  devoured  the  substance 
of  each  in  turn,  and  compelled  her  to  seek  a  divorce  on  the  ground 
of  utter  neglect.' 

Count  Tolstoi,  in  his  remarkable  work,  What  /  believe,  says  :  *  I 
came  to  understand  the  full  meaning  of  Christ's  words,  and  saw  that 
God  had  created  man  and  woman  in  order  that  they  might  live  in 
couples,  and  that  what  God  had  joined  together  should  never  be  put 
asunder.  I  now  see  clearly  that  monogamy  is  the  natural  law  of 
mankind,  and  must  never  be  broken.  I  understand  the  words  "  he 
who  divorces  his  wife,"  that  is,  the  woman  to  whom  he  was  first 
united,  "  forces  her  to  commit  adultery,"  and  brings  new  evil  into  the 
world.  I  consider  as  alone  sacred  and  obligatory  that  union  which, 
once  and  for  ever,  binds  a  man  to  the  first  woman  he  loves.' 

Love-Feasts  in  the  Early  Church. 

ACTS  ii.  42  :  '  And  they  continued  stedfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and 
fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers.' 

Question. —  What  relation  may  we  suppose  this  *  breaking  of 
bread '  to  have  borne  to  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ? 

Answer. — A  study  of  the  literature  of  this  subject  leaves  the 
impression  that  there  is  very  little  actual  information  on  which  we 
can  rely,  and  that  we  are  almost  dependent  on  reasonable  or  un- 
reasonable suppositions.  WTiat  seems  to  be  quite  clear  is,  that 


LOVE-FEASTS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.        361 

Eastern  communities,  united  by  some  philosophical,  or  social,  or 
religious  bonds,  are  accustomed  to  take  their  common  daily  meal 
together,  one  meal  usually  sufficing  in  Eastern  countries.  Such  was 
the  custom  of  the  Essenes ;  and,  in  later  times,  of  monks  and 
religious  sects.  The  men  of  Sparta  were  provided  with  a  daily 
public  meal,  at  the  national  expense.  And  further  illustrations  may 
be  found  in  the  habits  of  the  Mendicant  Friars,  the  Apostolici,  and 
the  Waldenses  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries. 

Our  Lord  and  his  band  of  Apostles  no  doubt  took  their  daily 
meal  together  ;  and,  in  the  times  of  the  great  feasts,  it  was  usual 
for  the  companies  coming  up  from  the  country  to  share  together  the 
daily  provision. 

The  expression  c  breaking  of  bread  '  would  not,  standing  by  itself, 
even  suggest  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  was  the  common  expression 
for  an  ordinary  meal,  and  became  such  from  the  double  fact  that 
Eastern  bread  is  always  broken  by  hand,  and  not  cut  with  the  knife  ; 
and  that  the  head  of  the  family,  immediately  after  the  saying  of 
grace,  commenced  the  meal  by  the  act  of  breaking  a  piece,  or  cake, 
of  bread.  So  far  then  as  the  expression,  as  used  in  the  above 
passage,  goes,  we  are  simply  to  understand  by  it  that  the  new  con- 
verts shared  in  the  daily  meal  of  the  apostolic  company,  which  was 
enlarged  to  meet  the  new  and  increased  demands. 

Such  meals  would,  however,  bear  a  solemn  religious  character,  and 
it  is  in  no  way  unreasonable  to  assume  that  the  one  chief  association 
of  them,  in  the  minds  of  the  apostles,  would  be  the  last  meal  they 
had  with  Christ,  on  the  night  of  His  arrest.  That  association  would 
give  tone  to  the  conversation  at  such  daily  meals,  and  it  would 
gradually  become  fixed,  so  that  it  would  be  understood,  by  the 
president,  that  it  was  his  duty  to  bring  the  solemn  scene  of  the 
great  Supper-night,  and  its  hallowed  teachings,  before  the  minds  of 
the  assembled  company.  We  can  even  understand  that,  gradually, 
the  custom  grew  of  actually  imitating  that  act  of  Christ,  in  what  we 
know  as  the  institution  of  the  Supper.  This  is,  probably,  the  genesis 
of  the  Christian  feast,  which  we  now  observe. 

Whatever  form  this  '  ordinance,'  or  *  sacrament,'  took,  it  is  almost 
universally  admitted  that,  at  first,  it  was  a  part — probably  the  closing 
part — of  the  ordinary  evening  meal,  or  '  supper,'  as  it  was  called. 
This  is  indeed  clearly  involved  in  the  perils  of  self-indulgence  which 
St.  Paul  so  forcibly  deals  with  in  i  Cor.  xi.  How  the  Lord's  Supper 
came  to  be  separated  from  the  daily  meal  we  are  left  to  imagine ; 
but,  from  the  religious  point  of  view,  this  was  the  only  part  of  the 
feast  specially  worth  preserving,  as  having  a  worshipping  and  educa- 


362     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

live  character  :  and  so,  when  changes  of  social  life  made  daily  eating 
together  unadvisable  or  impossible,  the  remembrance  of  Christ  with 
the  aid  of  the  emblems  of  bread  and  wine  was  retained,  and  made  a 
distinct  part  of  public  Christian  service. 

There  are  no  descriptions  of  these  daily  eatings  together,  as  they 
were  presided  over  by  the  Apostles,  and  we  have  no  reason  for 
thinking  that  they  differed  in  general  form  from  the  united  meals  of 
other  communities  at  this  period.  We  have  descriptions  of  the 
methods  of  observance  in  the  time  of  the  successors  of  the  Apostles, 
but,  in  considering  them,  we  must  make  careful  allowance  for  the 
tendency  to  establish  ceremonials,  and  get  the  free  Christian  life 
fixed  in  precise  and  formal  moulds. 

We  are  told  that  the  Christians  of  a  given  town  or  district  came 
together  on  a  fixed  day,  probably  the  first  day  of  the  week,  in  some 
large  room,  either  hired,  or  lent  by  some  wealthy  Christian.  The 
materials  of  the  meal  varied  according  to  the  feeling  or  wealth  of 
the  society.  Bread  and  wine  were  essential,  because  used  in  that 
more  solemn  commemorative  act  which  came  at  some  period  in  the 
service.  But  they  provided  also  meat,  poultry,  cheese,  milk,  and 
honey  ;  and  early  paintings  in  the  catacombs  of  Rome  indicate  that 
fish  was  also  used.  If  the  feast  was  of  this  kind  we  can  well  under- 
stand how  gluttony  and  drunkenness  became  associated  with  it,  and 
called  forth  the  indignant  reproaches  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  The  cost 
of  the  meal  fell  chiefly  on  the  richer  members  of  the  church  ;  but  it 
is  probable  that  each  person  was  expected  to  bring  his  contribution 
in  money  or  in  food.  The  women  and  men  were  seated  at  different 
tables,  perhaps  on  opposite  sides  of  the  room,  and  all  waited  until 
the  presbyter  or  bishop  pronounced  the  blessing.  Then  they  ate 
and  drank.  At  some  time  during  the  meal,  one  loaf  was  passed 
round,  and  one  cup,  the  cup  of  blessing,  and  of  these  all  partook. 
Then  they  washed  their  hands,  and  the  more  devotional  part  of  the 
evening  began.  Reports  from  district  churches  were  read,  those  who 
had  gifts  expounded,  collections  were  made  for  the  poor,  and  with 
the  kiss  of  charity  the  evening  closed.  Such  meetings  were  designed 
to  be  a  witness  and  bond  of  the  common  brotherhood  of  Christians. 

It  is  certainly  a  most  strange  thing  that  no  commands  in  relation 
to  the  Lord's  Supper  are  given  by  any  apostle,  and  that  the  reproof 
of  St.  Paul  is  the  only  reference  made  in  the  New  Testament  to  it. 
No  mention  is  made  of  it  by  the  Apostolical  fathers,  Barnabas, 
Polycarp,  or  Clement  of  Rome.  Ignatius,  in  a  doubtful  passage, 
make  some  very  vague  and  uncertain  allusions  to  it.  Justin  Martyr 
(A.D.  148)  gives  two  descriptions  in  nearly  identical  words.  'On 


LOVE-FEASTS  IN  THE  EARLY  CHURCH.        363 

Sundays  we  all  assemble  in  one  place,  both  those  who  live  in  the 
city  and  they  who  dwell  in  the  country,  and  the  writings  of  apostles 
and  prophets  are  read  so  long  as  the  time  permits.  When  the 
reader  stops,  the  president  of  the  assembly  makes  an  address,  in 
which  he  recapitulates  the  glorious  things  that  have  been  read,  and 
exhorts  the  people  to  follow  them.  Then  we  all  stand  up  together 
and  pray.  After  prayer,  bread,  wine,  and  water  are  brought  in. 
The  president  of  the  meeting  again  prays  according  to  his  ability, 
and  gives  thanks,  to  which  the  people  respond  "  Amen."  After  this, 
the  bread,  wine,  and  water  are  distributed  to  those  present,  and  the 
deacons  carry  portions  to  such  as  are  necessarily  detained  from  the 
meeting.  Those  who  are  able  and  willing  contribute  what  they 
please  in  money,  which  is  given  to  the  president  of  the  meeting,  and 
is  appropriated  to  the  support  of  widows  and  orphans,  the  sick,  the 
poor,  and  whomsoever  is  necessitous.' 

Dean  Plumptre  says  that  'in  proportion  as  the  society  became 
larger,  and  the  sense  of  brotherhood  less  living,  the  old  social  dis- 
tinctions would  tend  to  re-assert  themselves.  The  agapae  would 
become  either  mere  social  entertainments  for  the  wealthy,  as  at 
Alexandria,  or  a  mere  dole  of  food  for  the  poor,  as  in  Western 
Africa,  and  in  either  case  would  lose  their  original  significance. 
Other  causes  tended  also  to  throw  them  into  the  background.  When 
Christians  came  to  have  special  buildings  set  apart  for  worship,  and 
to  look  on  them  with  something  of  the  same  local  reverence  that 
the  Jews  had  had  for  the  Temple,  they  shrank  from  sitting  down  in 
them  to  a  common  meal  as  an  act  of  profanation.  The  agapae  were, 
inerefore,  gradually  forbidden  to  be  held  in  churches,  as  by  the 
Council  of  Laodicea,  that  of  third  Carthage  (A.D.  391),  and  that  of 
Trullo  (A.D.  692).'  The  least  of  love  was  finally  separated  irom  the 
Eucharist,  which,  by  the  Council  of  third  Carthage,  was  required  to 
be  received  lasting. 


Selling  Debtors. 

MATTHEW  xviii.  25 :  •  But  forasmuch  as  he  had  not  to  pay,  his  lord  commanded 
him  to  be  sold,  and  his  wife,  and  children,  and  all  that  he  had,  and  payment  to  b? 
made.' 

Question. — May  not  an  argument  be  drawn  from  our  Lord's 
reference  to  slavery  in  favour  of  that  domestic  institution  ? 

Answer. — It  is  necessary  to  distinguish  carefully  between  slavery, 
or  compelled  personal  service,  in  Eastern  countries,  and  the  slavery 
which  properly  aroused  the  indignation  of  our  fathers,  as  practised  in 


364      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  West  Indies  and  America.  Our  Western  idea,  that  man  ought 
never  to  be  treated  as  property,  seems  very  strange  to  the  Eastern 
mind,  which  is  familiar  with  the  tribal  idea,  which  treats  all  the 
members  of  the  tribe  as  the  absolute  property  of  the  chief.  It  may 
also  be  remembered  that  Easterns  do  not  punish  by  perpetual  im- 
prisonment, as  our  fathers  did,  for  debt,  or  by  penal  servitude,  as  we 
do  for  crime.  To  sell  a  person,  and  even  his  family,  which  was 
dependent  on  him,  along  with  him  for  debt,  was  a  more  hopeful  way 
of  punishing  him  by  restricting  his  liberty,  than  our  method  of  com- 
mitting to  the  dreadful  associations  of  a  Fleet  prison.  A  man  who 
proved  himself  unable  to  manage  money  was  wisely  sentenced  to 
work  all  the  rest  of  his  life  for  another. 

We  do  not,  therefore,  confuse  things  that  differ.  To  use  force 
against  a  weaker  race,  rudely  seize  them  from  their  homes,  cruelly 
ill-treat  them,  carry  them  away  to  foreign  lands,  sell  them  for  profit, 
and  drive  them  to  work  with  the  lash,  is  all  so  utterly  abominable 
that  one  wonders  how  honourable  men  could  ever  have  argued  in 
favour  of  such  practices  and  such  institutions.  But  to  restrict  a  man's 
liberty  when  it  is  proved  that  he  does  not  know  how  to  use  it ;  to 
compel  him  to  serve  another  when  it  is  plain  that  he  could  not  serve 
himself,  has  only  in  it  so  much  of  degradation  as  is  necessary  to 
constitute  it  a  punishment 

It  may  even  be  fairly  argued,  in  favour  of  ancient  and  Eastern 
institutions,  that  as  there  are  individuals  who  are  incapable  of  self- 
management,  and  are  best  in  the  bondage  and  direction  of  personal 
service,  so  there  may  be  races  which  can  develop  better  under  con- 
ditions of  so-called  slavery,  than  with  the  full  trust  of  individual 
liberty.  But  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  persuade  Western  peoples 
that  the  extreme  demand  which  they  make  for  personal  freedom  rests 
upon  a  very  local  and  circumscribed  sentiment.  Abraham's  followers 
never  wanted  to  be  free,  because  such  slavery  as  they  knew  was  no 
irksome  relationship. 

Our  Lord  had  no  commission  to  alter  the  existing  conditions  of 
society,  and  He  therefore  spoke  in  the  terms  familiar  to  His  age.  We 
must  clearly  see  that  He  referred  to  the  slavery  which  He  knew  of,  and 
not  to  the  slavery  which  has  disgraced  the  later  Christian  centuries. 

It  may  be  noted  that,  in  the  case  of  slavery  in  payment  of  debt, 
the  debtor  would  have  the  chance  of  working  out  his  debt,  and  so 
recovering  his  personal  freedom.  This  is  an  important  mitigation  of 
the  punishment  and  degradation.  At  least  in  the  earlier  times  the 
Year  of  Jubilee  brought  all  slave-times  to  an  end. 


WHO   WERE  THE  HERODIANS1  365 

Who  were  the  Herodians  ? 

MARK  iii.  6  :  '  And  the  Pharisees  went  forth,  and  straightway  took  counsel  with 
the  Herodians  against  Him,  how  they  might  destroy  Him.' 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  by  this  term  a  distinct  sect,  or 
is  it  another  name  for  a  well-known  party?  And  in  any  case,  what 
could  be  the  ground  of  their  enmity  against  Christ! 

Answer. — Very  little  positive  information  is  at  hand  concerning 
this  party  or  sect,  which  seems  to  have  been  political  rather  than  re- 
ligious, and  to  have  united  with  the  Jewish  sects  only  on  the  ground 
of  a  common  animosity  to  one  who  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah. 

Among  a  great  many  suppositions  as  to  who  or  what  they  might 
have  been,  one  little  piece  of  historical  fact  appears,  which  is  narrated 
by  Dean  Plumptre.  He  says  that  certain  Jewish  writers  give  the 
origin  of  the  Herodian  sect  thus  :  '  In  the  early  days  of  Herod  the 
Great,  when  Hillel  the  great  scribe  was  at  the  height  of  his  fame,  he 
had  as  his  colleague  Menahem,  possibly  the  son  of  the  Essene  of 
that  name,  of  whom  Josephus  tells  us  that  he  prophesied  Herod's 
future  greatness,  and,  it  may  be,  the  father  of  the  Manaen  of 
Acts  xiii.  i.  This  Menahem  was  tempted  by  the  king's  growing 
power,  and,  with  eighty  followers,  entered  into  his  service,  forsook 
the  ranks  of  the  Pharisees,  and  appeared  in  gorgeous  apparel  glittering 
with  gold.'  If  this  man  was  the  founder  of  the  party,  by  this  act,  we 
can  well  understand  what  were  its  leading  principles. 

Tertullian  and  others  say  that  they  took  their  name  from  believing 
Herod  to  be  the  Messiah,  who  was  to  raise  the  country  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  glory.  We  may  be  sure  that  they  were  strongly  attached  to 
the  family  and  rule  of  Herod;  and,  by  consequence,  very  zealous 
for  the  authority  of  the  Romans,  and  the  introduction  of  Roman 
manners,  games,  and  other  heathen  usages.  Their  desire  to  fully 
re-establish  the  Herodian  kingdom  set  them  in  deadly  enmity  against 
Christ,  who  claimed  to  set  up  a  new  kingdom.  Farrar  thinks  that 
these  Herodians  were,  on  their  religious  side,  mostly  Sadducees ; 
and  he  inclines  to  identify  them  with  the  Boethusim,  a  party  who 
were  identified  with  Herod  the  Great,  by  marriage  (through  Mari- 
amne,  daughter  of  Simon,  who  was  son  of  a  certain  Boethus  of 
Alexandria),  and  by  worldly  interests. 

If  we  try  to  estimate  the  political  movements  of  the  age,  we  shall 
see  that  there  were  probably  many  who  saw  '  in  the  power  of  the 
Herodian  family  the  pledge  of  the  preservation  of  their  national 
existence  in  the  face  of  Roman  ambition.  In  proportion  as  they 
regarded  the  independent  nationality  of  the  Jewish  people  as  the 


366     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

first  condition  of  the  fulfilment  of  its  future  destiny,  they  would  be 
willing  to  acquiesce  in  the  dominion  of  men  who  were  themselves  of 
foreign  descent,  and  not  rigid  in  the  observance  of  the  Mosaic  ritual. 
Two  distinct  classes  might  thus  unite  in  supporting  what  was  a 
domestic  tyranny  as  contrasted  with  an  absolute  dependence  on 
Rome,  those  who  saw  in  the  Herods  a  protection  against  direct 
heathen  rule,  which  was  the  one  object  of  their  fear ;  and  those  who 
were  inclined  to  look  with  satisfaction  upon  such  a  compromise 
between  the  ancient  faith  and  heathen  civilization,  as  Herod  the 
Great  and  his  successors  had  endeavoured  to  realize,  as  the  true  and 
highest  consummation  of  Jewish  hopes.  On  the  one  side  the 
Herodians — partisans  of  Herod  in  the  widest  sense  of  the  term — 
were  thus  brought  into  union  with  the  Pharisees ;  on  the  other 
with  the  Sadducees.  Yet  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they 
endeavoured  to  form  any  very  systematic  harmony  of  the  conflicting 
doctrines  of  the  two  sects,  but  rather  the  conflicting  doctrines  them- 
selves were  thrown  into  the  background  by  what  appeared  to  be  a 
paramount  political  necessity.  Such  coalitions  have  been  frequent  in 
every  age;  and  the  rarity  of  the  allusions  to  the  Herodians  as  a 
marked  body,  seems  to  show  that  this,  like  similar  coalitions,  had 
no  enduring  influence  as  the  foundation  of  party.' —  Westcott. 

Old  Testament  Baptizings. 

MATTHEW  iii.  6  :  '  And  were  baptized  of  him  in  Jordan,  confessing  their  sin*.' 
Question. —  Whence  did  John  get  the  idea  of  associating  this  rite 
with  his  preaching  ? 

Answer. — The  assertion  made  by  John  himself,  and  recorded  by 
the  Evangelist  John,  *  And  I  knew  him  not,  but  he  that  sent  me  to 
baptize  with  water,  the  same  said  unto  me,'  etc.,  can  only  mean  that 
he  claimed  to  have  received  instructions  direct  from  God  in  relation 
to  the  matter.  And  this  is  the  only  satisfactory  explanation.  If  we 
recognise  in  John  a  prophet,  that  is,  a  man  in  direct  communication 
with  God,  receiving  instructions  immediately  from  heaven  for  the 
ordering  of  his  life-work,  then  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  that  his 
characteristic  rite,  as  well  as  his  characteristic  message,  were  given 
him  from  above.  It  may  be  freely  admitted  that,  in  later  Judaism, 
there  had  grown  up  associations  with  sprinklings,  or  baptizings,  which 
prepared  the  way  for  a  ready  understanding  of  John's  rite,  but  it  and 
its  meaning  were  subjects  of  special  revelation,  and  needed  to  be 
explained  to  the  people. 

It  is  asserted   that   previous  to  the  time  of  John  proselytes  to 


OLD  TESTAMENT  BAPT2ZINGS.  367 

Judaism  were  admitted  by  the  ceremony  of  baptism,  the  water  repre- 
senting the  dividing  line  between  the  two  religions  :  but  John's 
demand  was  not  of  any  change  of  religion,  but  o.  repentance,  as  a 
moral  preparation  for  a  special  Divine  revelation,  which  was  close  at 
hand.  It  would  be  more  hopeful  to  study  the  rite  of  baptism  in  its 
association  with  repentance  ;  and  as  the  sign,  or  outward  expression, 
of  the  state  or  attitude  of  the  repentant  mind.  In  teaching  the  duty 
of  repentance,  it  is  of  supreme  importance  that  it  should  be  made 
quite  clear  to  every  mind,  that  it  is  no  mere  good  sentiment,  it  must 
be  accompanied  by  an  actual  putting  away  of  evil.  Exactly  this  was 
enforced  by  the  rite  of  baptism,  which  said,  *  You  must  put  away  your 
wrong- doings,  wash  them  all  right  away,  as  you  wash  the  filth  of  the 
body  by  bathing.  Your  immersion  then  is,  the  outward  and  visible 
sign  that  you  not  only  feel  sorry  for  sin,  but  do  actually,  with  holy 
resolve  and  efibrt,  put  it  away  from  you.'  In  this  view  the  associa- 
tions of  John's  rite  are  the  simple  and  natural  associations  of  the  bath ; 
and  it  does  not  seem  necessary  to  go  beyond  these.  The  voice  of  his 
rite  John  uttered  when  he  said,  '  Bring  forth  therefore  fruits  meet  for 
repentance.' 

While,  however,  this  satisfies  us,  it  may  be  well  to  examine  what 
can  be  said  in  favour  of  a  much  more  strictly  ritual  significance.  So 
far  as  the  Mosaic  system,  in  its  original  form,  is  concerned,  the 
washings  of  priests,  or  of  healed  persons,  signified  only  the  putting 
away  of  external  sin,  sin  as  a  stain  on  conduct  and  relations.  In 
earlier  Judaism  lustrations  have  nothing  to  do  with  changed  opinions 
or  new  religions.  And  it  is  certainly  more  probable  that  John  would 
carry  on  the  original  Mosaic  teachings  than  any  of  the  sentiments  and 
extravagances  which  grew  up  under  a  decayed  Rabbinism. 

It  can  only  be  said  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  baptism  of 
proselytes  was  practised  prior  to  the  advent  of  Christ.  Some  argue 
indeed  that  it  was  a  custom  introduced  after  Christ's  time ;  and  Dean 
Alford  only  ventures  to  assert  that  *  the  baptism  or  lustration  of  a 
proselyte  on  admission  would  follow  as  a  matter  of  course,  by  analogy, 
from  the  constant  legal  practice  of  lustration  after  all  uncleannesses  ; 
and  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  time  when  it  would  not  be  of  use.' 
But  this  looks  very  like  determining  beforehand  what  ought  to  be 
the  explanation  of  the  rite,  and  then  seeking  for  indications  and  proofs 
of  the  position  resolved  upon.  It  does  not  appear  that  John's  baptism 
had  anything  whatever  to  do  with  proselytes.  He  was  a  moral  pre- 
parer  of  the  ways  ;'  and  his  rite  was  strictly  a  part  of  his  *  preparing ' 
work.  Olshausen  suggestively  says,  '  It  was  a  baptism  of  repentance ; 
not  a  laver  of  regeneration* 


368      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Pressens'e  may  be  cited  as  supporting,  in  general,  the  view  of  John's 
baptism  which  we  have  commended  as  most  reasonable.  He  says  : 
'  The  rite  of  baptism  is  the  summary  of  John's  preaching,  and  of  his 
whole  ministry,  at  least  when  it  is  restored  to  its  true  meaning,  and 
is  not  regarded  according  to  the  thoroughly  Pharisaic  interpretation 
of  the  historian  Josephus,  as  setting  forth  the  self-purification  of  the 
soul.  The  originality  of  John's  baptism  is  unjustly  disputed,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  identical  with  the  baptism  of  proselytes.  It  is  first 
very  doubtful  whether  this  ceremony  was  in  use  at  this  period ;  then 
John  expressly  combated  the  exaggerated  idea  entertained  of  the 
privilege  of  belonging  to  the  holy  nation.  The  rite  which  he  instituted 
connects  itself  with  the  ablutions  so  much  observed  in  the  religion  of 
Moses ;  but  it  extends  their  significance  by  substituting  the  idea  of 
moral  purification  for  that  which  is  merely  ritual.  With  him  the 
question  is  not  of  such  or  such  a  special  defilement,  but  of  that 
general  corruption  which  has  befallen  human  nature,  and  which  calls 
for  a  powerful  and  new  manifestation  of  Divine  love.  Thus  his  bap- 
tism represents  present  penitence  and  coming  deliverance :  it  is  the 
true  sacrament  of  this  era  of  preparation,  the  condensed  utterance  of 
which  is  a  cry  of  grief  and  hope,  taking  the  form  of  a  prayer  of 
penitence  and  trust.  The  later  prophets  had  declared  that  the  times 
of  Messiah  would  be  marked  by  the  purification  of  hearts.  *  I  will 
sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean,'  we  read  in 
Ezekiel.  *  There  shall  be  a  fountain  opened  for  sin  and  for  unclean- 
ness,'  says  Zechariah.  Evidently  the  baptism  of  John  only  translated 
into  an  impressive  ceremonial  these  symbolical  words.  If  for  ablutions 
he  has  substituted  immersion,  it  is  the  better  to  represent  the  gravity 
of  the  disease  which  was  to  be  healed." 

We  find,  then,  the  proper  anticipations  of  John's  rite  (i)  in  the 
general  Eastern  associations  of  washing  with  water.  'Ablution  in  the 
East  is  almost  a  religious  duty.  The  dust  and  heat  weigh  upon  the 
spirits  and  heart  like  a  load;  its  removal  is  refreshment  and  happiness. 
It  was,  hence,  impossible  to  see  a  convert  go  down  into  a  stream, 
travel-worn  and  soiled  with  dust,  and,  after  disappearing  for  a 
moment,  emerge  pure  and  fresh,  without  feeling  that  the  symbol  suited 
and  interpreted  a  strong  craving  of  the  human  heart'.  (2)  The  Taber- 
nacle and  Temple  practised  constant  ablutions,  and  others  were 
required  daily  from  the  people  at  large,  to  remove  ceremonial  im- 
purity. And  (3)  in  the^figurative  expressions  used  by  the  later  prophets. 
David  had  prayed,  'Wash  me  from  mine  iniquity.'  And  Isaiah  had 
cried,  '  Wash  ye,  make  you  clean ;  put  away  the  evil  of  your 
doings.' 


WASHING  SAINTS  FEET.  369 

Washing  Saints'  Feet. 

I  TIMOTHY  v.  10  :  '  If  she  hath  washed  the  saints'  feet.' 

Question. — Can  this  refer  to  some  ritual  practice  which  had  been 
early  established,  or  does  it  allude  only  to  the  usual  kindly  and  familiar 
attentions  to  guests  in  Eastern  households  ? 

Answer. — It  is  merely  a  general  expression  for  *  showing  kindly 
hospitality,'  and  there  is  nothing  whatever  of  a  ritual  or  ceremonial 
character  about  it.  One  familiar  and  necessary  act  of  hospitality  is 
mentioned  as  representing  all  that  is  included  in  kindly  attention  to 
guests  and  strangers.  Washing  the  feet  was  regarded  as  a  specially 
grateful  act,  by  those  who  wore  sandals  for  journeying,  but  threw 
them  off,  and  stepped  on  carpets  and  mats  with  bare  feet. 

'  To  this  day,  in  some  parts  of  Syria,  the  custom  exists  of  washing 
a  visitor's  feet,  to  show  to  him  that  he  is  welcome.  Buckingham 
states  that  he  once  stopped  at  the  house  of  a  widow  in  Arabia,  and 
that  she  insisted  upon  washing  his  feet ;  and  Jowett,  when  in 
Syria,  received  the  like  attention  from  a  servant,  by  direction  of  his 
master.  The  earliest  records  we  have  of  this  custom  are  in  Gen. 
xviii.  4,  xix.  2.  If  a  man  should  call  at  a  house  in  the  parts  referred 
to,  and  no  water  should  be  brought  for  his  feet,  it  would  be  a  sign 
that  he  was  not  welcome.  Now  we  read  in  Timothy  that  a  widow 
was  not  to  be  admired  into  the  primitive  Church  unless  she  had 
washed  the  saints'  feet ;  that  is,  unless  she  could  prove  her  attach- 
ment to  the  cause  of  Christ  by  having  hospitably  entertained  His 
travelling  disciples — having  "lodged  strangers,"  and  having  made 
known  to  them  that  they  were  welcome  in  the  usual  way ;  for  all  the 
early  saints  were  travelling,  wayfaring  men.' 

Sweat  like  Blood. 

LUKE  xxii.  44 :  '  And  being  in  an  agony  He  prayed  more  earnestly :  and  His 
sweat  became  as  it  were  great  drops  of  blood  falling  down  upon  the  ground ' 
(Rev.  Ver.). 

Question. — Does  this  mean  that  they  actually  were  blood-drops 
that  fell  from  Him,  or  only  that  they  were  large,  thick,  heavy  drops, 
like  drops  of  blood  ? 

Answer. — Two  things  at  once  invite  attention,  (i)  The  fact  of 
the  sweat  taking  a  peculiar  character  is  only  noticed  by  the  Evan- 
gelist Luke.  If  it  had  been  real  blood,  the  apostles  must  all  have 
observed  the  blood-stains  on  our  Lord's  garments.  (2)  St.  Luke 
carefully  states  that  the  form  of  them  was  like  blood-drops ;  he  does 

24 


370      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

not  assert  anything  concerning  the  substance  of  them.  It  seems  then 
to  be  quite  an  over-straining  of  his  language  to  make  out  that  the 
sweat  was  actual  blood. 

It  may  be  freely  admitted  that  sufficient  instances  of  bloody  dis- 
charge from  the  skin,  under  pressure  of  extreme  excitement,  have 
been  furnished  by  Dr.  Stroud  and  others,  to  assure  the  possibility  of 
such  an  explanation  of  Luke's  narrative.  AVe  only  say,  that  such 
scientific  elucidations  are  not  necessary,  for  Luke's  words  are  quite 
simple  and  natural,  and  adequate  to  the  occasion.  Being  a  physician, 
he  readily  found  a  medical  simile,  and  likened  the  big  drops  of 
sweat  to  the  great  thick  drops  of  blood  which  he  must  often  have 
seen.  We  do  not  desire  to  separate  our  Lord's  experience  from  that 
which  is  quite  ordinarily  human. 

Dean  Plumptre  evidently  inclines  to  this  view,  though  he  hesitates 
about  distinctly  stating  it  '  The  phenomenon  described  is  obviously 
one  which  would  have  a  special  interest  for  one  of  Luke's  calling, 
and  the  four  words  which  he  uses  for  "  agony,"  "  drops,"  "  sweat," 
"  more  earnestly  "  (lit,  more  intensely),  though  not  exclusively  techni- 
cal, are  yet  such  as  a  medical  writer  would  naturally  use.  They  do 
not  occur  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament.  The  form  of  the  expression, 
"  as  it  were,  great  drops  (better  dots)  of  blood,"  leaves  us  uncertain, 
as  the  same  Greek  word  does  in  "  descending  like  a  dove,"  in  Matt. 
iii.  1 6,  whether  it  applies  to  manner  or  to  visible  appearance.  On 
the  latter,  and  generally  received  view,  the  phenomenon  is  not  un- 
paralleled, both  in  ancient  and  modern  times.' 

The  chief  authorities  for  the  view  that  the  term  refers  to  the  great 
size  and  thickness  of  the  drops  that  fell,  are  Euthymius,  Theophylact, 
Kuinoel,  Olshausen  ;  and  for  the  view  that  they  were  drops  of  actual 
blood,  Calvin,  Bengel,  Meyer,  De  Wette,  Godet,  Oosterzee,  Alford, 
etc. 

Farrar  curiously  allows  himself  to  use  expressions  which  suit 
either  of  the  theories.  He  says  :  '  The  great  drops  of  anguish 
which  drop  from  Him  in  the  deathful  struggle  look  to  them  like 
heavy  gouts  of  blood/  And  then,  a  few  lines  below,  he  says: 
*  Whence  came  all  this  agonized  failing  of  heart  ....  which  forced 
from  Him  the  rare  and  intense  phenomenon  of  a  blood-stained 
sweat  T 

The  view  which  we  approvers,  that  large  drops  of  sweat  from  our 
Lord's  face  fell,  and  attracted  the  attention  of  the  disciples ;  in 
narrating  the  striking  fact  they  had  noticed,  they  produced  such  an 
impression  of  the  unusual  intensity  of  the  discharge,  that  St.  Luke 
found  the  only  fitting  simile  with  which  to  describe  it,  in  the  thick 
and  heavy  drops  of  blood. 


PRAYING  IN  THE  STREETS.  37 1 

Praying  in  the  Streets, 

MATTHEW  vi.  5  :  'They  love  to  pray  standing  in  the  synagogues,  and  in  the 
corners  of  the  streets,  that  they  may  be  seen  of  men.' 

Question. — Must  we  regard  our  Lord's  words  as  literally  de- 
scriptive of  prevailing  habits^  or  are  they  a  figurative  representation 
of  formality  and  self-seeking  in  prayer  ? 

Answer. — We  can  hardly  doubt  that  the  exaggerated  claim  of 
the  Pharisees  to  a  peculiar  sanctity  found  expression  in  public  acts 
and  attitudes  of  devotion.  They  sought  the  '  praise  of  men,'  and 
would  not  scruple  at  any  methods  for  attracting  public  attention.  If 
our  religion  be  of  the  heart,  then  it  is  enough  to  be  assured  that  He 
who  seeth  in  secret  knows  all  about  it ;  but  if  a  man's  religion  be  a 
round  of  forms  and  ceremonies,  then  he  will  be  sure  to  want  some- 
body— some  fellow-men — to  look  on  and  admire ;  and  he  will  soon 
come,  more  or  less  consciously,  to  adjust  and  arrange  his  doings  so 
as  to  win  men's  admiration. 

The  mistaken  forms  which  a  merely  ceremonial  Eastern  religion 
may  take  is  well  illustrated  in  the  Moslem  practices  of  the  present 
day.  The  *  namaz,'  or  daily  prayer,  is  recited,  as  nearly  as  con- 
venient, at  sunrise,  noon,  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at  sunset, 
and  an  hour  and  a  half  later,  which  is  called  bed-time.  The  Moslem 
may  pray  anywhere,  in  any  place  where  the  prayer-time  may  find 
him  ;  and  the  more  ostentatious  the  place  the  greater  the  merit  of  the 
prayings.  *  To  obtain  a  reputation  for  sanctity,  they  often  make  long 
prayer,  using  vain  repetitions.  It  is  evident  that  their  minds  are 
little  engaged  in  these  exercises,  for  they  look  around,  salute  a  friend, 
or  tell  a  person  that  they  will  give  him  some  desired  information  as 
soon  as  they  get  through.' 

Van  Lennep  tells  us  that '  Orientals  are  very  particular  in  selecting 
the  spot  on  which  they  pray  ;  it  must  not  have  been  used  for  unclean 
purposes,  nor  in  any  way  have  been  defiled  Hence  Muslims  never 
pray  in  a  sleeping  apartment  or  closet,  but  in  an  open  hall,  garden, 
or  on  a  house-top.  They  never  kneel  upon  the  bare  ground,  if  they 
can  help  it,  but  spread  a  cloth  or  rug,  upon  which  they  perform  their 
devotions,  after  removing  their  shoes.' 

It  is  said  by  those  who  describe  the  prevailing  customs  of  our 
Lord's  time,  that  a  rigid  Pharisee  prayed  many  times  a  day,  and  too 
many  took  care  to  have  the  hours  of  prayer  overtake  them,  decked 
in  their  broad  phylacteries,  at  the  street  corners,  that  they  might 
publicly  show  their  devoutness.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  force  our 

24—2 


372      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Lord's  words  to  bear  a  precisely  descriptive  application.  The  moral 
teacher,  who  seeks  to  correct  the  common  evils  of  an  age,  is  bound 
to  make  them  *  loom  large.'  He  becomes  effective  by  adding  a 
certain  *  humour '  to  his  description.  If  we  were  referring  only  to 
human  teachers,  we  should  say  that  they  even  gain  effect  by  using 
the  instrumentality  of  'satire'  and  'caricature.'  We  prefer,  there- 
fore, to  regard  the  expression  of  the  above  passage  as  so  far  descrip- 
tive, that  such  praying  in  the  streets  might  occasionally  be  seen,  but 
as  mainly  figurative,  designed  to  show  up  the  evil  of  formality  and 
self-seeking  in  so  purely  religious  a  matter  as  prayer. 

Gifts  of  Festal  Garments. 

MATTHEW  xxii.  1 1  :  *  And  when  the  king  came  in  to  see  the  guests,  he  saw- 
there  a  man  which  had  not  on  a  wedding  garment.' 

Difficulty. — The  punishment  was  very  severe  for  what  seems  to  us 
a  mere  slight.  Can  it  be  that  local  customs  alter  our  estimate  of  the 
man's  conduct. 

Explanation. — Though  it  cannot  be  proved  to  have  been  a 
common  custom  in  ordinary  society,  there  are  many  illustrations  of 
the  fact  that  kings  provided  suitable  garments  for  their  guests,  and 
required  them  to  wear  such  garments  while  in  their  presence.  Trench, 
in  his  work  on  the  '  Parables/  gives  several  instances.  Wardrobes 
filled  with  many  thousand  garments  formed  part  of  the  wealth  of 
every  Eastern  prince,  and  it  was  part  of  his  glory  to  bring  them  out 
for  use  on  state  occasions.  We  have  met  with  another  illustration. 
*  Every  guest  invited  to  the  wedding  at  the  royal  marriage  of  Sultan 
Mahmoud,  a  few  years  ago,  had  made  expressly  for  him,  at  the 
expense  of  the  Sultan,  a  wedding-garment  No  one,  however  digni- 
fied by  his  station,  was  permitted  to  enter  into  the  presence-chamber 
of  that  sovereign  without  a  change  of  raiment.  This  was  formerly 
the  universal  custom  in  the  East.  But,  inasmuch  as  these  garments 
were  very  costly,  and  some  of  the  guests  invited  might  plead  poverty, 
and  thus  appear  unclad  in  the  guest-chamber  of  the  king,  the  cost 
was  defrayed  at  Sultan  Mahmoud's  expense.  To  each  guest  was 
presented  a  suit  of  wedding-garments.' 

The  figures  used  to  describe  the  punishment  of  this  false  friend, 
this  presumptuous,  conceited,  self-willed  guest,  only  present  in  a 
poetical  way  the  simple  fact  that  he  was  turned  out  of  the  warm  and 
light  guest-chamber  into  the  night  and  the  cold,  and  left  to  go  shiver- 
ing home.  In  this  view  his  punishment  was  exactly  appropriate  to 
the  sin  of  his  insolent  slighting  of  the  feelings  and  wishes  of  one  who 
was  offering  him  kindly  hospitalities. 


FASTING  CUSTOMS  373 

Farrar  states  the  case  in  a  few  suggestive  sentences  :  '  Others  are 
invited ;  the  wedding-feast  is  furnished  with  guests  both  good  and 
bad ;  the  king  comes  in  and  notices  one  who  had  thrust  himself  into 
the  company  in  his  own  rags,  without  providing  or  accepting  the  wed- 
ding-garment, which  the  commonest  courtesy  required.  This  rude, 
intruding,  presumptuous  guest  is  cast  forth  by  attendant  angels 
into  outer  darkness,  where  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth/ 

Fasting  Customs. 

MATTHEW  vi.  16  :  '  Moreover  when  ye  fast,  be  not  as  the  hypocrites,  of  a  sad 
countenance :  for  they  disfigure  their  faces,  that  they  may  appear  unto  men  to 
fast.1 

Difficulty. — Seeing  that  fasting  is  no  part  of  Mosaic  injunctions, 
flow  did  it  come  to  be  such  a  common  religious  custom 'J 

Explanation. — It  is  certainly  the  fact,  and  it  is  a  very  striking 
fact,  that  no  examples  of  fasting  occur  before  the  time  of  Moses;  arid 
no  regulations  in  relation  to  fasting  were  made  by  Moses.  The  only 
thing  that  can  be  forced  to  bear  such  a  reference  is  the  requirement 
for  the  solemn  day  of  expiation  :  '  On  the  tenth  day  of  this  seventh 
month,  ye  shall  afflict  your  souls'  (Lev.  xxiii.  27,  29).  It  is  argued 
that  this  'affliction  of  the  soul'  must  have  been  accompanied  with 
abstinence  from  eating ;  because  people  in  trouble  lose  appetite. 

The  earliest  Bible  reference  to  fasting  is  found  in  Judges  xx.  26  ; 
and  a  careful  study  of  Old  Testament  passages  bearing  upon  it,  will 
probably  leave  the  impression  that  it  was  rather  a  national  than  a 
religious  custom,  and  one  bearing  its  proper  relation  to  outxvard  and 
temporal  troubles  rather  than  to  soul-humiliations. 

The  religious  character  of  fasting  seems  to  have  grown  out  of  the 
national  fastings  which  the  Jews  established  during  the  Captivity. 
They  observed  four  annual  fasts,  in  the  fourth,  fifth,  seventh,  and 
tenth  months.  Weekly  fasts  were  established  some  time  later  than 
the  Captivity.  They  were  observed  on  the  second  and  fifth  days  of 
the  week,  and  may  have  been  associated  with  the  troublous  times  of 
the  Maccabees. 

Rabbinism  developed  national  fasting  into  a  religious  ordinance, 
and  made  it  a  bondage;  a  burden  beyond  men's  power  to  bear. 
The  spirit  of  priesthood,  which  claims  the  guidance  of  men's  con- 
sciences and  lives,  must  work  through  minute  and  multiplied  require- 
ments ;  and  is  sure  to  delight  in  schemes  which  put  men's  bodies 
and  bodily  habits  under  painful  restraints.  Fasting  is  one  of  the 


'374      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

most  effective  instruments  for  the  purposes  of  Rabbinism  and 
Priestism  ;  and  in  this  way  the  evil  custom  became  established.  So 
far  as  we  can  understand  the  New  Testament  teaching,  no  man  is 
required  to  fast ;  but  everyone  is  at  liberty  to  fast.  It  is  no  matter 
of  religious  duty ;  it  may  be  a  matter  of  pious  feeling,  of  personal 
impulse.  If  any  man  finds  fasting  to  be  helpful  to  his  religious 
culture,  let  him  fast ;  but  do  not  let  him  lay  his  customs  as  bondages, 
or  even  as  models,  on  his  fellow-worshippers.  What  Christ  urges  is 
simply  this :  '  If  you  do  fast,  be  true  in  it ;  be  modest  in  it ;  be 
reticent  in  it ;  fast  for  God  only  to  know  about ;  beware  of  fasting 
just  to  get  the  praise  of  men.' 

The  extravagancies  and  insincerities  against  which  our  Lord  pro- 
tested are  well  indicated  by  Geikie :  '  When  fasting,  the  Pharisees 
strewed  their  heads  with  ashes,  and  neither  washed  nor  anointed 
themselves,  nor  trimmed  their  beards,  but  put  on  wretched  clothing, 
and  showed  themselves  in  all  the  outward  signs  of  mourning  and 
sadness  used  for  the  dead.  Insincerity  made  capital  of  feigned 
humiliation  and  contrition,  till  even  the  Roman  theatre  noticed  it. 
In  one  of  the  plays  of  the  time,  a  camel,  covered  with  a  mourning 
cloth,  was  led  on  the  stage.  "  Why  is  the  camel  in  mourning  ?" 
asked  one  of  the  players.  "Because  the  Jews  are  keeping  the 
Sabbath-year,  and  grow  nothing,  but  are  living  on  thistles.  The 
camel  is  mourning  because  its  food  is  thus  taken  from  it."  Rabbis 
were  forbidden  to  anoint  themselves  before  going  out,  and  it  was 
recorded  of  a  specially  famous  doctor,  that  his  face  was  always  black 
with  fasting. 

All  Things  Common. 

ACTS  ii.  44  :  '  And  all  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all  things  common.' 

Question. —  WJiat  limitations  ought  we  to  put  on  this  as  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  daily  life  of  the  early  disciples  ? 

Answer. — Great  mistakes  are  made  by  attempting  to  explain 
Eastern  customs  in  the  light  of  Western  ideas.  We  bring  to  this 
passage  our  knowledge  of  wild  and  visionary  schemes  for  securing 
among  men  a  community  of  goods,  and  then  assume  that  it  was  such 
a  scheme  that  the  apostles  and  the  Early  Church  attempted  to  work 
out.  In  the  East  large  and  mixed  families  are  accustomed  to  dwell 
together,  sharing  the  common  property  of  the  family.  Even  as  many 
as  sixty  to  one  hundred  persons  are  reported  to  reside  in  one  house. 
The  idea  of  a  separate  dwelling  for  each  distinct  family  is  quite  a 
Western  notion.  So  we  may  understand  that  providing  daily  food 


ALL  THINGS  COMMON.  375 

for  a  very  large  accession  to  the  apostolic  family  was  no  very  over- 
whelming matter. 

But  the  fact  is,  that  St.  Luke's  very  simple  and  natural  language 
has  been  forced  to  mean  too  much  :  and  two  statements  of  his  have 
been  set  together,  though  they  have  no  necessary  relations.  He  says, 
'they  had  all  things  common,'  which  simply  means  that  they  took  their 
daily  meals  together,  instead  of  in  their  separate  houses.  And  he 
presently  says,  they  *  sold  their  possessions  and  goods,  and  parted  them 
to  all,  as  every  man  had  need :'  which  has  been  read  as  ii  it  were,  'and 
every  member  sold  all  his  possessions  and  goods,  put  the  proceeds 
into  a  common  fund,  from  which  the  general  needs  were  supplied ;' 
whereas  the  natural  and  common-  sense  meaning  is  '  those  who  had 
possessions  and  goods  sold  out  so  as  to  be  enabled  to  replenish  the 
stores  from  which  the  daily  food,  and  the  supply  of  special  necessities, 
was  provided.' 

A  note  in  the  Speaker's  Commentary  puts,  succinctly  and  forcibly, 
the  reasonable  limitations  under  which  St.  Luke's  expressions  ought 
to  be  placed.  '  The  apostles  may  have  thought  that  thay  were  follow- 
ing Christ's  example  in  having  some  common  fund  on  a  larger  scale 
than  that  with  which  they  had  been  familiar  while  they  were  in 
personal  attendance  upon  Him  (Luke  viii.  3  ;  John  xii.  6 ;  xiii.  29). 
There  was  no  community  of  goods  '  as  touching  the  right,  title,  and 
possession  of  the  same,'  absolutely  and  universally  enforced,  as  a 
necessary  and  permanent  arrangement  oi  the  Church.  This  is  plain 
from  Acts  v.  4 ;  from  the  scope  for  the  alms  deeds  of  Dorcas,  ix.  36 ; 
from  Mary,  the  mother  of  Mark,  retaining  her  house,  xii.  1 2  ;  from 
Mnason's  ability  to  provide  lodgings,  xxl  16;  from  the  Hebrew 
Christians  having  property  of  which  they  could  be  despoiled,  Heb.  x. 
34;  xiii.  2,  5,  16;  from  the  exhortations  to  almsgiving  and  to  the 
distinct  duties  of  rich  and  poor  in  the  Epistles  generally ;  and  from 
the  recommendation  to  the  Corinthians  in  particular  (i  Cor.  xvi.  2), 
that  everyone  should  lay  by  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  God  had 
prospered  him.  (Comp.  Rom.  xv.  26  ;  i  Johniii.  17.)  The  estimate 
of  comparative  needs  recognised  in  the  next  verse  shows  that  property 
was  not  alienated  beyond  control  Whatever  was  done  was  spon- 
taneous, and  continued  to  be  so.' 

Dr.  Oswald  Dykes  traces  carefully  the  circumstances  under  which, 
this  so-called  '  community  of  goods'  came  to  be  the  temporary  fashion. 
*  This  social  peculiarity  of  the  Jerusalem  Church  during  the  early 
weeks  of  its  existence  is  attended  with  a  little  difficulty,  but  that 
difficulty  has  been  increased  by  the  discussion  which  has  raged  over 
it.  When  we  throw  ourselves  back  into  the  circumstances  of  the  time, 


3y6      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

what  really  happened  becomes  more  than  intelligible — it  becomes 
natural.  During  the  Master's  ministry,  He  and  his  itinerant  assistants, 
who  formed  one  household  for  the  time  being,  had  naturally  one 
purse,  out  of  which  their  common  expenses  were  defrayed.  This 
fund,  when  low,  was  recruited  by  the  voluntary  gifts  of  well-to-do  and 
generous  friends,  especially  females,  who  had  received  spiritual 
blessing  from  the  Master.  The  unity  of  the  brotherhood  had  thus 
been  realized  even  in  its  financial  arrangements.  Now,  matters  were 
not  felt  to  have  materially  changed.  There  was  still  a  band  of  Twelve, 
who  could  not  earn  a  subsistence  because  they  had  spiritual  work  to 
do,  as  well  as  a  number  of  incapable,  aged,  and  sickly  brethren, 
widows,  like  the  Mother  herself,  and  young  children.  There  was  also 
a  larger  number  than  before  of  somewhat  wealthy  disciples,  such  as 
Nicodemus,  Joseph,  and  Barnabas.  All  these,  as  brethren,  ate  daily 
at  one  common  table,  and  counted  themselves  to  be  one  large  family 
of  God,  left  by  their  divine  Head,  indeed,  yet  not  orphans,  since  the 
Comforter  had  come.  But  how  can  we  speak  of  brotherhood  in  the 
family  if  the  abundance  of  one  brother  is  not  to  be  a  supply  for 
another's  want  ?  Inequalities,  indeed,  are  not  inconsistent  with  the 
family  idea  ;  but  destitution  is.  There  is,  to  be  sure,  no  suggestion 
of  what  moderns  call  'Equality,'  as  the  result  of  this  4  fraternity';  only 
there  is  an  intolerance  of  downright  want.  There  must  not  be  among 
them  any  that  lack.  The  spirit  of  fraternity  in  Christ  will  at  least 
forbid  that ;  forbid  it,  not  by  any  statute,  but  by  the  instinct  of  brother- 
hood working  spontaneously  yet  working  irresistibly.  The  common 
expenses  of  the  house  and  table,  which  belonged  to  all ;  the  support 
of  the  apostles ;  the  relief  of  destitute  and  widowed  members ;  all 
these  were  from  the  first  a  very  pressing  and  patent  care.  For  such 
purposes  a  fund  was  formed  under  the  charge  of  the  apostles.  Into 
that  fund  all  those  who  had  landed  property,  or  real  estate  of  any 
sort,  brought  the  proceeds  of  its  sale.  Besides,  I  think  there  is  a 
hint  that  some  capitalists  distributed  their  wealth  at  their  own 
discretion,  as  well  as  through  the  hands  of  the  church  officers.  Any- 
how, the  result  was  that,  under  the  strong  and  general  feeling  of 
Christian  charity  which  sprang  out  of  Christian  unity,  men  gave  as 
freely  as  if  what  they  had  were  not  really  their  own,  but  only  held  by 
them  in  trust  for  others.' 

Neander  says  :  '  When  we  are  told  "  The  whole  multitude  .... 
had  all  things  common,"  it  is  not  to  be  understood  literally,  but  as  a 
description  of  that  brotherly  love  which  repressed  all  selfish  feelings, 
and  caused  the  wealthier  believers  to  regard  their  property  as 
belonging  to  their  needy  brethren,  so  ready  were  they  to  share  it  with 


TRIBUTE-MONEY.  377 

them.  And  when  it  is  added,  "  They  sold  their  possessions,"  etc.,  it 
is  to  be  understood  according  to  what  has  just  been  said.  A  common 
chest  was  established,  from  which  the  necessities  of  the  poorer 
members  were  supplied,  and  perhaps  certain  expenses  incurred  by  the 
whole  church,  such  as  the  celebration  of  the  agapae,  were  defrayed ; 
and  in  order  to  increase  their  contributions,  many  persons  parted 
with  their  estates.' 

Tribute-Money. 

MATTHEW  xvii.  24  :  '  And  when  they  were  come  to  Capernaum,  they  that 
received  the  tribute-money  came  to  Peter,  and  said,  Doth  not  your  master  pay 
tribute  ?' 

Difficulty. — Seeing  that  our  Lord  had  no  property,  and  was  not 
engaged  in  any  trade,  it  seems  strange  that  He  should  be  called  on  to 
pay  taxes. 

Explanation. — Taxes  have  to  be  distinguished  from  customs 
and  duties.  And  taxes  may  be  levied  on  houses  and  incomes,  or 
on  heads.  Our  Lord  paid  no  customs  as  a  tradesman  or  merchant ; 
He  was  the  subject  of  no  tax-claim  as  a  householder  or  as  the  recipient 
of  an  annual  income ;  but  He  was  a  man,  a  member  of  the  nation, 
and  of  full  age,  and  therefore  if  a  tax  was  laid  on  '  heads,'  He  would 
come  under  its  claim. 

The  Revised  Version  renders  this  passage  in  such  a  way  as  to 
bring  out  the  particular  tax  which  is  referred  to.  '  And  when  they 
were  come  to  Capernaum,  they  that  received  the  half-shekel  came  to 
Peter,  and  said,  Doth  not  your  master  pay  the  half-shekel  ?' 

If  we  follow  this  rendering,  we  understand  the  tribute  or  tax 
referred  to  to  be  the  gift  required  by  the  Mosaic  law  from  all 
Israelites,  towards  meeting  the  expenses  of  the  tabernacle  or  temple 
service.  Josephus  is  an  authority  for  the  statement  that,  though  in 
earlier  times  this  had  been  only  collected  occasionally,  as  circum- 
stances required,  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  it  had  come  to  be  collected 
annually,  from  all  Jews  above  twenty  years  of  age.  It  was  not  until 
the  time  of  Vespasian  that  this  tax  was  paid  into  the  Roman  treasury. 
As  the  tax  was  for  religious  purposes,  in  which  men  shared  simply  as 
men,  and  not  on  any  grounds  of  their  trade,  class,  or  property,  the 
tax  was  properly  paid  by  our  Lord,  simply  as  a  worshipping  Jew,  who 
desired  to  *  fulfil  all  righteousness.' 

We  learn  that  this  'half-shekel'  was  collected  even  from  the  Tews 
in  foreign  countries.  'The  three  great  Festivals  of  the  Jewish  year 
were  recognised  as  the  proper  times  for  payment ;  and  the  relations 
of  this  narrative  to  John  vii.  makes  it  probable  that  the  collectors  were 


378      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

now  calling  in,  for  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  the  payments  that  had 
not  been  made  at  the  Passover  or  Pentecost  previous.  Their  question 
implies  that  they  half  thought  that  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth  had 
evaded  or  would  disclaim  payment.' 

Geikie  has  collected  careful  details  concerning  this  tax :  '  The 
Shelihim,  or  "  messengers,"  who  collected  this  tax  in  Judaea,  visited 
each  town  at  fixed  times.  In  foreign  countries  places  were  appointed 
for  its  collection  in  every  city  or  district  where  there  were  Jews — and 
where  were  there  not  ? — the  chief  men  of  their  community  in  each 
acting  as  treasurer,  and  conveying  the  amounts  in  due  course  to 
Jerusalem.  Three  huge  chests,  carefully  guarded  in  a  particular 
chamber  in  the  Temple,  held  the  yearly  receipts,  which  served, 
besides  providing  the  beasts  for  sacrifice,  to  pay  the  Rabbis,  in- 
spectors of  victims,  copyists,  bakers,  judges,  and  others  connected 
with  the  Temple  services,  and  numerous  women  who  wove  or  washed 
the  Temple  linen.  It  supplied  also  the  costs  of  the  water-supply, 
and  of  the  repairs  of  the  vast  Temple  buildings.  The  collection 
began  in  the  Holy  Land  on  the  first  of  Adar — part  of  our  February 
and  March — the  month  of  the  "  returning  sun,"  and  the  next  before 
that  of  the  Passover.  By  the  middle  of  it  the  official  exchangers  in 
each  town  had  set  up  their  tables,  and  opened  their  two  chests  for 
the  tax  of  the  current  and  of  the  past  year,  for  many  paid  the  tax  for 
two  years  together.  They  supplied  the  old  sacred  shekel,  coined  by 
.  Simon  the  Maccabee,  for  a  trifling  charge,  to  all  who  required  it,  for 
only  that  coin  was  received  by  the  Temple  authorities  in  homage  to 
Pharisaic  and  national  sentiment.  At  first  everything  was  left  to  the 
goodwill  of  the  people;  but  after  the  25th,  prompt  payment  was 
required,  and  securities,  such  as  an  under-garment  or  the  like,  were 
taken  even  from  the  pilgrims  coming  up  to  the  feast.'  These 
Shelihim  made  the  inquiry  of  Peter  concerning  the  payment  of  the 
half-shekel  for  Jesus. 

Outside  Staircases. 

MATTHEW  xxiv.  17  :'  Let  him  which  is  on  the  housetop  not  come  down  to  take 
anything  out  of  his  house.' 

Difficulty. — This  counsel  assumes  some  sort  of  outside  staircase, 
but  if  access  could  be  gained  to  the  roof  from  the  public  street ',  how  could 
the  house  be  secure  from  robbers  ? 

Explanation. — Some  travellers  have  boldly  asserted  that  they 
never  saw,  in  the  East,  any  such  outside  stairs  as  would  meet  the 
case  of  the  text ;  but  there  appears  to  be  an  imperfect  understanding 


OUTSIDE  STAIRCASES.  379 

of  the  arrangements  of  Eastern  houses,  and  of  the  possibilities  which 
were  before  a  man  who  was  caught  with  a  sudden  alarm  when  on  the 
house-top. 

The  rooms  were  built  round  an  open  central  court,  and  there  was 
direct  access  from  this  court  to  the  front-door  through  a  smaller 
court.  If  the  staircase  came  from  the  roof  into  the  large  court,  the 
man  could  readily  escape  at  the  gate  without  being  hindered  by  going 
into  or  through  the  rooms.  Or  the  staircase  might  come  into  the 
smaller  court,  just  inside  the  front-gate. 

But  our  Lord  may  have  contemplated  the  case  of  the  man  not 
coming  down  any  staircase  at  all,  but  fleeing  at  once  over  his 
neighbours'  flat  roofs,  until  he  found  a  convenient  place  for  descent. 
This,  of  course,  was  only  permissible  on  sudden  emergencies,  as  very 
strict  laws  warned  men  against  even  looking  over  their  neighbours' 
parapets.  Over  the  roofs  it  was  quite  possible  for  a  man  to  reach  the 
city  walls  and  gates.  Dean  Plumptre  supports  this  view :  '  The  houses 
in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  were  built  in  a  continuous  line,  and  with 
flat  roofs,  so  that  a  man  might  pass  from  house  to  house  without 
descending  into  the  street  until  he  came  to  some  point  near  the  wall 
or  gate  of  the  city,  and  so  make  his  escape.' 

Assuming  that  some  sort  of  staircase  is  tacitly  referred  to,  we  may 
note  that  Trench  says  there  was  usually  a  flight  of  steps  on  the  out- 
side of  the  house,  as  well  as,  or  sometimes  instead  of,  an  internal 
communication  of  the  same  kind.   But  no  sufficient  authority  is  given . 
for  this  explanation. 

Dr.  Thomson  is  more  exactly  descriptive  of  Eastern  matters,  and 
he  says  that  the  staircase  is  often  outside  the  house,  but  within  the 
exterior  court.  It  would  not  be  either  agreeable  or  safe  to  have  the 
stairs  land  outside  the  enclosure  altogether,  and  it  is  rarely  done, 
except  in  mountain  villages,  and  where  roofs  are  but  little  used. 
The  stairs  not  infrequently  end  in  the  lewan>  but  more  commonly  in 
some  lower  part  of  the  court. 

Van  Lennep)  describing  the  houses  of  Western  Asia,  says :  '  The 
staircase,  of  stone  or  wood,  which  leads  to  the  flat  roof,  is  usually 
upon  the  outside  of  the  house,  and  starts  from  the  central  court.  But 
at  the  great  earthquake  of  Aleppo,  in  1822,  the  few  that  escaped  with 
their  lives  happened  to  be  upon  the  house-tops,  and,  not  going  down 
into  the  houses  or  into  the  narrow  streets,  fled  from  roof  to  roof  until 
they  reached  the  fields  outside  the  city.' 

From  these  accounts  we  distinctly  gather  that,  whatever  was  the 
position  of  the  staircase,  it  was  well  within  the  precincts  of  the  build- 
ing, and  duly  protected  by  the  front  door  or  gate. 


380      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

§ 

Powers  of  Jewish  Tribunals. 

JOHN  ix.  22  :  *  He  should  be  put  out  of  the  synagogue.' 

Question. — Is  there  accurate  information  at  command  concerning 
the  limits  imder  which  the  Romans  permitted  the  Jews  local  govern- 
ment ? 

Answer. — It  was  the  policy  of  the  Romans  not  to  interfere  with 
the  religious  systems  prevailing  in  the  countries  which  they  conquered 
and  ruled ;  and  it  seems  that  they  even  retained  the  systems  of  local 
magistracy,  reserving  to  themselves  the  power  of  dealing  with  serious 
social  crime  and  offences  of  a  political  or  semi-political  character. 
But  in  the  case  of  the  Jews  the  local  magistracy  was  closely  con- 
nected with  the  religion,  the  elder,  or  elders,  of  the  synogogue  having 
power  to  deal  with  common  social  offences,  which  were  regarded 
from  a  religious  point  of  view,  and  punished  mainly  by  the  depriva- 
tion of  religious  privileges.  Romans  would  think  little  of  such 
punishments,  but  the  history  of  the  Jewish  race  had  settled  into  the 
minds  of  all  the  people  an  exceeding  jealousy  of  their  religious 
standing  and  privileges,  and  the  synagogue  punishments  appealed 
to  this  prevailing  social  sentiment. 

The  Romans  did  not  interfere  with  the  Jewish  excommunications, 
which  seem  to  have  been  of  three  kinds  :  (i)  An  injunction  that  the 
condemned  person  was  not,  for  thirty  days,  to  come  within  four  cubits 
distance  of  any  other  person.  (2)  Absolute  banishment  from  all  re- 
ligious meetings,  and  exclusion  from  society,  for  a  time.  (3)  Perpetual 
banishment ;  entire  exclusion  from  the  fellowship  of  God's  people. 

The  second  stage  of  excommunication  needs  further  explanation. 
*  If,  at  the  end  of  thirty  days,  the  offender's  repentance  was  not 
declared,  he  was  then  subject  to  the  Cherem,  or  curse.  His  offence 
was  proclaimed  in  the  synagogue  to  which  he  belonged ;  and,  at  the 
time  of  pronouncing  the  curse,  lamps  or  candles  were  lighted,  which 
at  its  conclusion  were  extinguished,  to  express  that  the  excommuni- 
cated person  was  then  excluded  from  the  light  of  heaven.  The 
person  thus  publicly  cursed  might  neither  teach  others  nor  they 
teach  him  ;  but,  by  study  and  research,  he  might  teach  himself,  that, 
haply,  he  might  be  convinced  of  the  guilt  or  error  into  which  he  had 
fallen.  His  effects  were  confiscated ;  his  male  children  were  not 
admitted  to  circumcision  ;  he  might  neither  hire  nor  be  hired ;  no 
one  might  trade  with  him,  or  employ  him  in  any  business,  unless  it 
were  a  very  little,  to  afford  him  the  barest  possible  means  of  subsist- 
ence ;  and  if,  finally,  he  died  without  repentance,  stones  were  cast  at 


POWERS  OF  JEWISH  TRIBUNALS.  381 

his  bier,  to  denote  that  he  had  deserved  to  be  stoned.  He  was  not 
honoured  with  a  common  burial ;  none  followed  him  to  the  grave ; 
none  lamented  for  him.  It  appears,  however,  that  even  the  persons 
who  laboured  under  this  fearful  sentence — which  was  exceedingly 
dreaded  by  the  Jews — were  not  excluded  from  the  services  of  the 
temple  and  synagogues,  although  they  were  there  dishonourably 
distinguished  from  others,  and  not  allowed  to  mingle  with  the  con- 
gregation. They  were,  in  fact,  no  longer  considered  members  of  the 
Jewish  Church,  and  scarcely  deemed  members  of  its  common-wealth. 
'We  should  add  that  the  curse  with  which  this  form  of  excommuni- 
cation was  publicly  given  was  attended  with  the  blowing  of  trumpets 
and  horns,  as  if  to  announce  the  circumstance  to  all  the  world.  The 
number  of  these  instruments  appears  to  have  been  proportioned  to  the 
alleged  offence ;  and  among  the  stories  which  the  Talmudists  relate 
concerning  Christ,  they  tell  us  that  four  hundred  trumpets  were 
brought  out  when  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth  "  was  excommunicated.1 

Certificates  of  Cure. 

MATTHEW  viii.  4  :  'Jesus  saith  -unto  him,  See  thou  tell  no  man,  but  go  thy 
way,  show  thyself  to  the  priest,  and  offer  the  gift  that  Moses  commanded,  for  a 
testimony  unto  them.' 

Difficulty. — If  leprosy  was  an  incurable  disease,  what  necessity 
could  there  be  for  arranging  a  certificate  of 'cure ? 

Explanation. — This  difficulty  rests  on  the  assumption,  which  is 
too  readily  made,  that  the  disease  of  leprosy  was  strictly  of  one  kind, 
always  marked  by  the  same  characteristic  features.  What  appears  to 
be  true  is  that  it  was  incurable  in  certain  of  its  forms,  and  after  it  had 
passed  certain  stages.  It  is  not  strictly  correct  to  say  of  any  disease 
that  it  is  absolutely  incurable ;  all  we  may  say  is  that  it  is  not  curable 
by  any  known  medical  remedies. 

The  question  whether  leprosy  was  an  infectious  disease  is  still 
debated  It  is  clearly  seen  that  it  was  hereditary.  It  was  communi- 
cated by  certain  special  forms  of  contact ;  and  we  are  disposed  to 
think  that,  in  some  of  its  forms,  it  was  strictly  infectious.  This 
affords  the  most  simple  and  natural  explanation  of  the  strict  removal 
of  lepers  from  society,  and  it  makes  reasonable  the  extreme  care  with 
which  the  priest  used  to  test  an  assumed  cure,  before  giving  his- 
certificate,  and  allowing  the  restored  person  to  return  to  ordinary  life 
associations. 

The  process  which  had  to  be  gone  through,  on  a  known  leper  pro- 
fessing to  have  been  cured,  is  given  in  detail  in  Lev.  xiv.  It  is  so 


382      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

seldom  read  t'nai  good  service  may  be  done  by  repeating  it  in  othei 
terms.  *  It  was  a  long  process  in  two  stages.  First,  the  priest  had  to 
come  to  the  leper  outside  the  camp  or  town,  to  kill  a  sparrow  over 
fresh  water,  to  dip  a  living  sparrow  with  cedar-wood,  scarlet  wool, 
and  hyssop,  into  the  blood-stained  water,  to  sprinkle  the  leper  seven 
times  with  this  strange  aspergillum,  and  then  let  the  living  bird  loose, 
and  pronounce  the  man  clean.  The  man  was  then  to  shave  off  his 
hair,  bathe,  remain  seven  days  out  of  his  house ;  again  shave  and 
bathe,  and  return  to  the  priest,  bringing  one  lamb  for  a  trespass- 
offering,  and  a  second  with  a  ewe-lamb  for  a  burnt  and  sin  offering 
(or,  if  too  poor  to  do  this,  two  young  pigeons),  and  flour  and  oil  for  a 
meat-offering.  Some  of  the  blood  of  the  trespass-offering  and  some 
of  the  oil  was  then  put,  with  certain  ceremonies,  on  the  tip  of  his 
right  ear,  the  thumb  of  his  right  hand,  and  the  great  toe  of  his  right 
foot,  the  rest  of  the  oil  being  poured  upon  his  head.  He  was  then 
pronounced  clean.  There  could  not  well  be  any  dispute  about  the 
reality  of  the  cleansing,  after  ceremonials  so  elaborate  as  this.' 

The  importance  of  the  priestly  certificate  lay  in  this,  that  without 
it  the  man  could  not  be  restored  to  the  Temple,  or  even  to  synagogue, 
worship.  We  are  not  told  whether  these  strict  ceremonies  were 
maintained  down  to  the  time  of  our  Lord  ;  possibly  the  presentation 
of  an  offering  was  treated  as  sufficient. 

It  is  certain  that  Moses  could  not  regard  any  disease  as  absolutely 
incurable,  for  that  would  be  to  put  limitations  on  the  Divine  power. 
Since  God  could  cure  even  leprosy,  proper  ceremonials  had  to  be 
established  for  recognising  what  was  at  least  a  possibility,  and  more 
than  once  in  the  history  of  the  race  proved  to  be  a  fact. 

Breaking  up  Roofs. 

MARK  ii.  4:  'They  uncovered  the  roof  where  He  was,  and  when  they  had 
broken  it  up.' 

Difficulty. — One  cannot  understand  whence  they  obtained  permis- 
sion to  break  up  a  man's  roof ;  nor  how  they  managed  to  do  it  without 
covering  the  company  below  with  choking  dust. 

Explanation. — St.  Matthew  narrates  this  incident,  but  gives  no 
description  of  the  mode  in  which  the  men  succeeded  in  overcoming 
their  hindrances,  and  getting  the  sick  man  into  the  presence  of  Jesus 
(Matt.  ix.  1-8).  St.  Luke  is  as  careful  in  details  as  St.  Mark,  but 
somewhat  differs  from  him.  He  says  :  *  They  went  upon  the  house- 
top, and  let  him  down  through  the  tiling  with  his  couch  into  the 
midst  before  Jesus'  (Luke  v.  19).  From  St.  Mark  we  learn  pre 


BREAKING  UP  ROOFS.  383 

cisely  that  the  incident  occurred  at  Capernaum ;  and  there  is  good 
reason  for  assuming  that,  in  this  town,  our  Lord  lodged  in  the  house 
of  Simon  and  Andrew,  which,  suitably  to  their  station,  would  be  one 
of  the  better-class  houses  of  a  country  town. 

An  inquiry  into  this  incident  should  start  with  the  assumption  that 
the  damage  done  to  the  building  was  the  least  possible  that  would 
meet  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  was  such  as  the  men  who  did  it 
could  themselves  readily  repair.  So  many  and  such  various  explana- 
tions are  at  our  command  that  the  inquiry  resolves  itself  into  a 
criticism  of  them,  and  an  effort  to  discover  the  most  reasonable. 

Some  idea  may  be  first  given  of  the  opinions  entertained  by 
commentators.  Alford  thinks  that  Jesus  was  '  speaking  to  the  crowd 
from  the  upper  story  of  the  house,  they  being  assembled  in  the  court, 
or  perhaps  (but  less  probably)  in  the  street.  Those  who  bore  the 
paralytic  ascended  the  stairs,  which  led  direct  from  the  street  to  the 
flat  roof  of  the  house,  and  let  him  down  through  the  tiles.'  He 
assumes  that  the  house  was  of  two  stories ;  imagines  a  staircase  irom 
the  street ;  and  avoids  the  attempt  to  explain  what  '  letting  down 
through  the  tiles  '  can  mean. 

Olshausen  says  :  *  The  whole  description  can  be  understood  only 
from  the  Oriental  construction  of  houses,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  flat  roof  might  be  reached  either  by  a  ladder  from  the  outside, 
or  from  a  neighbouring  house.  Still,  the  breaking  up  of  the  top-floor, 
which  was  generally  laid  with  tiles,  appears  rather  strange ;  but 
perhaps  the  description  is  to  be  understood  of  their  somewhat  en- 
larging the  entrance  into  the  house  from  above.'  Olshausen  does 
not  seem  to  have  decided  whether  Jesus  was  teaching  in  a  room  or 
in  the  quadrangle;  but  on  this  depends  our  explanation  of  the 
incident.  The  idea  of  '  letting  the  couch  down '  does  not  suggest 
*  carrying  it  down  an  inside  stair.' 

Webster  and  Wilkinson  give  what  we  think  to  be  the  most  simple 
and  most  satisfactory  explanation  we  have  met  with ;  its  simplicity 
and  naturalness  being  its  chief  recommendation.  '  Many  Oriental 
houses  have  a  court  or  quadrangle  in  front ;  the  buildings  which 
form  the  house  occupy  one  or  more  of  its  sides.  The  internal  part 
of  such  a  house  is  often  screened  by  a  corridor  below,  having  the 
various  household  offices  behind  it,  and  a  gallery  above,  iiom  which 
is  the  entrance  to  the  family  apartments.  The  gallery  is  roofed  over, 
and  its  roof  is  about  the  same  height  as  the  rooi  Oi  the  house. 
Bearing  this  in  mind  we  may  account  for  the  iollowing  description 
in  this  way.  The  quadrangle  is  full  of  people ;  our  Lord  instructs 
them  from  the  gallery ;  the  Pharisees  are  in  the  family  apartments 


384      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

adjoining  the  gallery ;  the  friends  of  the  sick  man  cannot  enter  the 
quadrangle  from  the  street ;  or,  if  this  could  be  done,  they  cannot 
reach  the  corridor,  from  which  there  were  steps  leading  to  the  gallery ; 
they  ascend,  therefore,  the  stairs  from  the  back  or  side  of  the  house 
leading  to  the  roof,  and  break  open  the  roof  or  veranda  which 
covered  the  gallery.  The  house-roof  was  used  for  a  terrace,  and  was 
built  of  strong  materials ;  the  gallery-roof  was  of  very  slight  con- 
struction, of  the  same  character  as  the  covered  balcony.'  This 
explanation  wholly  removes  the  two  difficulties  of  creating  dust  and 
injuring  the  building. 

Trench  tells  us  that  *  in  St.  Mark,  at '  least,  the  words  are  so  plain 
and  clear,  that  we  can  suppose  nothing  else  than  that  a  part  of  the 
actual  covering  of  the  roof  was  removed,  that  so  the  bed  on  which 
the  palsied  man  lay  might  be  let  down  before  the  Lord.  The  whole 
circumstance  will  be  much  more  easily  conceived,  and  present  fewer 
difficulties,  when  we  keep  in  mind  that  it  was  probably  the  upper 
chamber  where  were  assembled  those  that  were  drawn  together  to 
hear  the  Lord.'  This  explanation  brings  us  in  full  front  of  the  two 
difficulties  which  we  have  suggested,  but  give  no  help  toward  the 
skilful  treatment  of  them. 

Dean  Plumptre  notes  that  the  expression  used  by  St.  Mark  is  a 
very  strong  one,  and  means  literally  '  and  having  dug  it  up.'  He 
thinks  actual  injury  was  done  to  the  ordinary  roof;  and  that  the 
light  structure  of  Eastern  houses  made  the  work  comparatively 
easy. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  says  that  the  roof  might  be  the  covering  of  an 
interior  colonnade  surrounding  the  atrium,  or  court.  But  to  this, 
and  to  another  suggestion,  that  our  Lord  was  speaking  in  a  large 
upper  room,  the  objection  may  fairly  be  urged,  that  such  colonnades 
and  such  upper  rooms,  were  only  found  in  superior  houses,  to  which 
class  Peter's  did  not  belong. 

We  may  now  give  some  of  the  explanations  offered  by  travellers 
or  residents  in  Palestine,  whose  actual  knowledge  and  observation 
should  give  material  help. 

Dr.  Thomson  is  the  authority  for  the  view  that  there  was  an 
actual  breaking  up  of  the  substance  of  the  roof.  He  says  :  '  I  have 
often  seen  this  ("  breaking  up  the  roof ")  done,  and  have  done  it 
myself  to  houses  in  Lebanon ;  but  there  is  always  more  dust  made 
than  is  agreeable.  The  materials  now  employed  (for  roofs)  are 
beams,  about  three  feet  apart,  across  which  short  sticks  are  arranged 
close  together,  and  covered  with  the  thickly-matted  thorn-bush  called 
bellan.  Over  this  is  spread  a  coat  of  thick  mortar,  and  then  comes 


BREAKING  UP  ROOFS.  385 

the  marl  or  earth  which  makes  the  roof.  Now,  it  is  easy  to  remove 
any  part  of  this  without  injuring  the  rest.  No  objection,  therefore, 
would  be  made  on  this  score  by  the  owners  of  the  house.  They  had 
merely  to  scrape  back  a  portion  of  the  roof  over  the  lewan,  take  up 
the  thorns  and  short  sticks,  and  let  down  the  couch  between  the 
beams  at  the  very  feet  of  Jesus.'  But  how  could  they  know  exactly 
the  part  of  the  room  in  which  Jesus  was  ?  How  could  the  people 
outside  hear  Jesus  if  He  spoke  in  a  room  ?  And  how  could  these 
men  break  up  the  roof,  in  this  sense,  without  making  such  a  noise  as 
would  disturb  both  speaker  and  hearers  ?  It  is  hardly  possible  to 
accept  this  very  ingenious  explanation,  which  creates  more  difficulties 
than  it  removes. 

Van  Lennep  and  Kitto  are  the  authorities  for  the  idea  of  a  gallery 
or  veranda  roof,  which  has  been  given  from  Webster  ana  Wilkinson. 
Van  Lennep  says :  *  The  roofs  are  not  covered  with  tiles  ;  but  there 
is  often  a  veranda  running  round  the  court,  and  this  is  shaded  by 
boards,  which  would,  according  to  the  Greek  and  Roman  fashion 
then  prevailing,  be  covered  with  tiles.  The  court  was  evidently  full 
of  people,  and  Jesus  spoke  seated  on  the  veranda,  which  was  higher. 
The  men  quietly  took  off  the  tiles  overhead,  as  is  frequently  done 
in  order  to  rearrange  them,  and  let  down  the  man  along  the  edge  of 
the  veranda,  without  even  removing  a  board.'  And  Kitto  says : 
*  There  are  usually  but  two  floors — the  ground-floor  and  an  upper 
floor.  The  ground-floor  comprises  the  kitchen,  store-rooms,  and 
various  offices ;  and  the  family  lives  in  the  upper  floor,  the  chambers 
of  which  look  into,  and  open  into,  a  gallery,  to  which  there  is  access 
by  one  or  two  staircases,  usually  of  stone.  The  gallery  is  generally 
broad,  and  is  covered  with  a  boarded  roof,  supported  by  wooden 
pillars.  As  Jesus  was  in  this  gallery,  the  course  the  men  had  to  take 
was  plain  and  simple.  They  had  only  to  take  up  two  or  three  of  the 
loosely-attached  boards,  forming  the  covering  of  the  gallery,  and 
there  was  a  clear  and  sufficient  opening  through  which  to  let  their 
friend  down  to  the  feet  of  our  Saviour.' 

Right  of  Plucking  Ears  of  Corn. 

MATTHEW  xii.  I  :  '  At  that  season  Jesus  went  on  the  sabbath  day  through  the 
cornfields  :  and  His  disciples  were  an  hungered,  and  began  to  pluck  ears  of  corn, 
and  to  eat '  (Rev.  Ver. ). 

Question. —  What  limitations  were  put  on  this  liberty  to  pluck  the 
torn,  so  that  serious  loss  and  damage  might  not  fall  on  tJie  farmer  ? 

Answer. — The  limitations  needed  were  sufficiently  found  in  the 
circumstances  and  sentiments  of  the  country,  and  in  the  rule  that  the 


386      HANDBOOK  OF  J3IBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

barley  or  wheat  might  be  taken  for  immediate  use,  but  none  might 
be  carried  away. 

Reading  this  incident  with  the  associations  of  Western  life,  we 
think  the  permission  was  very  unjust  to  the  farmers,  who,  in  our 
country,  do  suffer  serious  loss  from  the  wanton  damaging  of  the  crops 
by  the  people  who  walk  through  the  fields.  We  have  not  the  Jewish 
sentiment,  that  the  land  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  produce  of  the  land  is 
His,  and  therefore  the  fruitage  ought  to  be  at  the  command  of  any  of 
the  Lord's  people  who  might  be  in  sudden  distress.  The  disciples 
took,  not  the  farmer's  corn,  but  Jehovah's  corn. 

Then  it  should  be  noted  that  Eastern  people  do  not  freely  walk 
about,  for  the  pleasure  of  walking,  as  do  Westerns.  They  prefer 
sitting ;  they  avoid  exertion ;  so  that  at  any  time  there  would  be  very 
few  people  in  the  fields,  and  these  only  going  through  on  their 
business. 

And  travellers  would  only  take  a  few  ears  to  stay  the  gnawings  of 
hunger ;  they  would  do  no  injury  to  the  growing  corn,  and  the  little 
they  would  take  would  hardly  amount  to  a  gleaning.  Limit  our 
European  customs  to  a  permission,  granted  to  bona-fide  travellers, 
that  they  might  take  sufficient  to  satisfy  passing  hunger,  and  no 
farmer  would  be  found  to  complain. 

The  Eastern  custom  was  so  well  established,  that  the  opponents  of 
Jesus  do  not  complain  of  the  disciples  for  taking  the  ears,  but  for 
taking  them  on  the  Sabbath,  contrary  to  the  Rabbinical  rules.  With 
characteristic  exaggeration,  this  rubbing  of  the  ears  on  the  Sabbath 
was  treated  by  the  Legalists  as  a  capital  offence.  It  seems  that  to 
reap  or  thresh  on  the  Sabbath  was  forbidden  by  one  of  the  abhoth,  or 
primary  rules,  but  '  the  Rabbis  had  decided  that  to  pluck  corn  was 
to  be  construed  as  reaping,  and  to  rub  it  as  thrashing ;  even  to 
walk  on  the  grass  was  forbidden,  because  that,  too,  was  a  species  of 
threshing ;  and  not  so  much  as  a  fruit  must  be  plucked  from  a  tree. 
All  these  latter  acts  were  violations  of  the  toldoth,  or  derivative  rules.' 

The  law  as  laid  down  by  Moses  has  its  own  sufficient  limitations. 
*  When  thou  comest  into  the  standing  corn  of  thy  neighbour,  then 
thou  mayest  pluck  the  ears  with  thine  hand  ;  but  thou  shalt  not  move 
a  sickle  unto  thy  neighbour's  standing  corn  '  (Lev.  xxiii.  25). 

The  custom  is  maintained  to  the  present  day.  Dr.  Thomson  says  : 
'  I  have  often  seen  my  muleteers,  as  we  passed  along  the  wheat- 
fields,  pluck  the  ears,  rub  them  in  their  hands,  and  eat  the  grains 
unroasted,  just  as  the  Apostles  are  said  to  have  done.' 


THE  NEEDLES  EYE.  387 

The    Needle's    Eye. 

MATTHEW  xix.  24  :  '  And  again  I  say  unto  you,  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  gr 
Ihrough  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.' 

Difficulty. — This  appears  to  be  quite  an  extravagant  figure  oj 
ipeech,  unless  there  is  some  unusual  Eastern  association  with  the  term 
'  needtts  eye? 

Explanation. — In  this  instance  there  is  a  striking  illustration  of 
the  needless  confusion  created  by  the  attempt  to  explain  Scripture 
allusions  without  due  consideration  of  Eastern  customs  and  associa- 
tions. Very  laboured  have  been  the  efforts  to  make  a  '  camel '  mean 
a  kind  of  rope,  whereas  it  means  nothing  but  a  camel.  And  most 
commentators  have  to  rest  satisfied  with  the  conclusion,  that  the 
sentence  must  have  been  a  popular  proverb  to  express  the  doing  of 
what  is  nearly  impossible ;  in  such  a  conclusion  shirking,  rather  than 
explaining,  the  difficulty. 

It  seems  that  our  Lord  meant  exactly  what  He  said.  The 
*  needle's  eye '  was  the  common  name  given  to  the  small  gate  beside 
the  larger  one  at  the  entrance  of  a  city,  through  which  a  camel  had 
to  be  hardly  squeezed  and  pulled  if  his  master  arrived  after  the  large 
gates  were  shut  Eastern  travellers  describe  as  almost  ludicrous  the 
desperate  efforts  which  are  necessary  in  getting  the  big,  unwieldy 
creature  through  the  little  gate. 

Lord  Nugent  was  the  first  to  call  attention  to  the  possible  reference 
of  the  term  to  the  narrow  gate,  which  is  often  formed  for  foot- 
passengers  beside  the  larger  gate  of  Eastern  cities ;  and  Miss  Von 
Finkelstein,  who  has  resided  for  many  years  in  Palestine,  gives  a  very 
graphic  description  of  the  scene  suggested  by  our  Lord's  reference,  in 
one  of  her  popular  lectures.  City  gates  are  shut  at  sunset,  or  soon 
after.  Some  of  them  contain,  in  one  of  their  folds,  a  small  door, 
which  is  left  open  for  an  hour  or  more  after  sunset  to  accommodate 
foot-passengers  accidentally  delayed  outside  the  walls  or  in  the  town  ; 
and  it  can  be  opened  even  later  with  a  backshish.  This  little  door 
is  said  to  be  called  by  the  Arabs  of  the  present  day  *  the  eye  of  a 
needle.' 

Van  Lennep  is  incredulous  as  to  the  sufficiency  of  this  explanation. 
He  says :  '  We  have  not  met  with  the  expression,  but  it  seems  not 
improbable  that  it  has  sometimes  been  used  to  denote  the  smallness 
of  the  opening.  Nor  have  we  ever  heard,  as  some  have  asserted,  that 
camels  are  sometimes  made  to  pass  through  this  little  door  upon 
their  knees  after  their  load  and  pack-saddle  have  been  taken  off. 

25—2 


388      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

The  fact  is,  a  camel  could  never  pass  through  such  a  door,  for, 
besides  being  small  and  low,  its  threshold,  which  consists  of  the 
lower  part  of  the  great  gate,  is  a  foot  and  a  half  or  two  feet  in 
height.'  It  is  evident,  however,  that  Van  Lennep  is  only  taking  into 
account  one  particular  kind  of  small  gate.  There  were  small  gates 
sometimes  at  the  sides  of  the  larger  gates,  which  had  no  such 
thresholds,  and  were  only  very  narrow  for  big  animals. 

As  illustrations  of  the  proverbial  use  of  this  and  similar  figures,  we 
may  quote  from  Lightfoot  the  following  specimens  :  '  In  a  discourse 
about  dreams,  to  intimate  that  they  do  not  exhibit  things  of  which 
the  mind  had  no  previous  conception,  it  is  said,  "  They  do  not  show 
a  golden  palm-tree  or  an  elephant  passing  through  the  eye  of  a 
needle."  To  one  who  had  related  something  very  absurd  and 
incredible,  it  was  said,  "  Perhaps  thou  art  one  of  the  Pombeditha  (a 
Jewish  school  at  Babylon),  who  can  make  an  elephant  go  through 
the  eye  of  a  needle."  So,  too,  in  the  Koran,  "until  the  camel  shall 
enter  the  needle's  eye,"  or  ear  in  Arabic.' 

Roberts  gives  the  Indian  form  of  the  proverb  :  '  Just  as  soon  will 
an  elephant  pass  through  the  spout  of  a  kettle.'  *  Ah  !  the  old 
sinner,  he  finds  it  no  easy  thing  to  die ;  his  life  is  lingering;  it  cannot 
escape ;  it  is  like  the  elephant  trying  to  get  through  the  spout  of  a 
kettle/ 

Malicious  Sowing  of  Tares. 

MATTHEW  xiii.  25  :  '  But  while  men  slept,  his  enemy  came,  and  sowed  tares 
among  the  wheat,  and  went  his  way.' 

Question. — Can  we  think  that  our  Lord's  illustration  is  based  on 
any  common  custom  of  those  times  ? 

Answer. — It  satisfies  the  case  of  a  parable  if  we  admit  that  the 
thing  described  in  it  might  be  done  :  it  is  not  necessary  to  affirm  that 
the  thing  had  been  done.  It  is  quite  a  natural  and  reasonable  supposi- 
tion that  an  enemy  might,  maliciously,  scatter  the  seeds  of  noxious 
weeds  in  a  newly-sown  field,  and  actual  instances  of  such  wickedness 
have  been  met  with,  and  reported. 

.  Dr.  Thomson  makes  it  extremely  doubtful  whether  anything 
approaching  a  custom  of  such  a  kind  was  established  in  the  country 
and  age  of  our  Lord.  His  treatment  of  this  subject  we  have  not  seen 
noticed,  and  the  explanations  of  the  commentaries  have  been  allowed 
to  pass  without  their  necessary  qualifications.  After  identifying  the 
'  tare '  with  the  Arabic  Zowan,  a  strong  soporific  poison,  Dr.  Thomson 
says :  *  How  are  you  to  answer  a  farmer  who  takes  you  to  a  field 


MALICIOUS  SOWING  OF  TARES.  389 

nearly  all  tares,  and  declares  that  he  there  sowed  clean  seed,  and 
that  in  previous  years  he  always  reaped  good  harvests  of  pure  grain  ? 
Whence  the  present  crop  of  tares  ?  he  asks,  and  so  do  you.  I  have 
repeatedly  examined  such  fields  with  all  the  care  in  my  power,  and 
without  finding  an  answer.  It  would  be  easy  to  say,  as  in  the 
parable,  "  An  enemy  hath  done  this  ;"  but,  though  I  have  read  in 
authors  who  never  resided  in  Palestine  that  bad  men  do  thus  injure 
their  enemies,  I  have  never  found  a  person  in  the  country  itself  who 
had  either  known  or  heard  of  such  an  act.  It  is  certainly  remarkable 
that  Arab  malice  has  never  adopted  this  mode  of  injuring  its  victims; 
but  the  fact  must  be  told, — it  is  altogether  unknown  at  the  present 
day.  It  must  have  been  done,  however,  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour, 
or  He  would  not  have  mentioned  it  in  His  parable.  At  all  events  the 
farmers  of  this  day  will  not  admit  that  their  fields  have  thus  been 
filled  with  tares,  and  I  believe  them.  We  must,  therefore,  find  some 
other  solution  of  a  phenomenon  which  occurs  so  often  that  I  have 
myself  had  frequent  opportunities  to  verify  it.' 

Roberts  gives  illustrations  of  this  malicious  practice  in  India ;  and 
we  have  met  with  the  following  fresh  proof  that  so  shamefully  wicked 
a  method  of  taking  revenge  has  entered  into  the  minds  of  bad  men  : 
'The  country  of  111- Will  is  the  byname  of  a  district  hard  by  St. 
Arnaud,  in  the  north  of  France.  There,  tenants,  when  ejected  by  a 
landlord,  or  when  they  have  ended  their  tenancy  on  uncomfortable 
terms,  have  been  in  the  habit  of  spoiling  the  crop  to  come  by  vindic- 
tively sowing  tares  and  other  coarse  strangling  weeds  among  the 
wheat,  whence  has  been  derived  the  sinister  name  in  question.  The 
practice  has  been  made  penal ;  and  any  man  proved  to  have  tampered 
with  any  other  man's  harvest  will  be  dealt  with  as  a  criminal.' 

Trench  says  that  in  the  Roman  law  the  possibility  of  this  form  of 
injury  was  contemplated  ;  and  adds  that  he  actually  knew  of  an  out- 
going Irish  tenant  who,  with  such  a  malicious  intent,  sowed  wild  oats 
in  the  fields  he  was  leaving. 

One  Bed  for  a  Family. 

LUKE  xi.  7  :  •  Trouble  me  not :  the  door  is  now  shut,  and  my  children  are  wiih 
me  in  bed  :  I  cannot  rise  and  give  thee.' 

Question. — Is  this  allusion  to  one  family  bed  to  be  taken  literally? 

Answer. — The  simple  question  that  must  be  decided  is  this: 
What  were  the  customs  of  the  country  and  the  time  ?  Such  a  family 
arrangement  is  so  repugnant  to  our  notions  of  what  is  seemly,  that 
we  are  set  upon  persuading  ourselves  that  our  Lord  did  not  really 


390     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

mean  what  He  said ;  and  we  search  for  some  possible  meaning 
which  may  bring  the  expression  into  harmony  with  Western  notions. 
We  think  He  may  have  meant,  *  We  are  all  of  us  in  our  beds.' 

Eastern  people  have  no  proper  bed-chambers  or  beds.  They 
sleep  at  night  in  the  rooms  they  occupy  by  day.  They  lie  down 
without  removing  any  clothes  except  the  outer  robe,  which  is  often 
laid  over  them  as  a  quilt.  They  rest  on  mats  or  mattresses,  which, 
along  with  the  coverlids,  are  kept  by  day  in  a  cupboard,  out  of  one 
corner  of  the  room.  This  is  called  the  bed,  or,  more  properly, 
bedding  chamber. 

Still,  under  such  arrangements,  we  may  assume  that  it  was  the 
usual  thing  for  individuals  to  lie  separately,  and  this  would  certainly 
be  the  case  in  better-class  families ;  but  there  is  good  evidence  that, 
among  the  poorer  people,  it  was  not  infrequent  for  a  whole  family  to 
lie  together  under  one  large  quilt ;  of  course  it  was  strictly  a  family 
arrangement 

We  are  told,  by  those  who  are  very  familiar  with  Eastern  life,  that 
parents  sleep  in  the  same  chamber  with  their  children,  unless  they 
can  afford  to  keep  servants,  to  whose  charge  they  may  be  entrusted. 
A  mother  has  been  known  to  sleep  in  the  same  bed  with  her  five 
children ;  this  bed  being  spread  upon  a  permanent  platform,  built  of 
wood,  at  one  corner  of  the  room,  with  a  low  railing  round  it. 

G.  O.  Wray,  in  his  journal  in  Palestine  (1863),  relates  the  follow- 
ing :  '  Our  quarters  for  the  night  are  a  family  dwelling-house,  con- 
sisting of  one  chamber  thirty  feet  square,  with  dome  roof  of  solid 
masonry ;  on  one  side  of  the  room  is  a  raised  floor  of  ten  feet  in 
breadth.  On  the  floor  of  this  dais  sleep  the  grandfather  or  patriarch, 
and  his  family  of  children  and  grand-children,  male  and  female,  some 
eight  of  them,  under  a  vast  blanket.' 

The  word  in  the  above  passage  which  is  translated  *  bed,'  is  an 
unusual  one,  and  properly  means  the  divan,  or  raised  platform,  which 
often  filled  nearly  half  a  room  in  a  Jewish  or  Eastern  house. 


Money- Changers  in  the  Temple  Courts. 

MATTHEW  xxi.  12  :  '  And  Jesus  went  into  the  Temple  of  God,  and  cast  out  all 
them  that  sold  and  bought  in  the  Temple,  and  overthrew  the  tables  of  the  money- 
changers, and  the  seats  of  them  that  sold  doves.' 

Questions. —  Was  this  a  recent  or  a  long-established  custom! 
And  wherein  lay  tfie  sin  of  it  which  aroused  our  Lord's  indignation  ? 

Answer. — The  first  person  to  introduce  this  sacrilegious  custom 
was,  according  to  the  Talmud,  one  Babba  Ben  Buta,  who  brought 


MOAEY-CHANGERS  IN  THE  TEMPLE  COURTS.  391 

three  thousand  sheep  of  the  flocks  of  Kedar  into  the  Mountain  of  the 
House,  that  is,  into  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  and  so  within  the 
consecrated  precincts.  The  practice  grew  out  of  the  desire  to  meet 
the  convenience  of  the  foreign  Jews,  who  visited  the  Holy  City  at 
the  Feasts,  and  were  glad  to  purchase  close  at  hand  the  beasts  they 
desired  to  offer  in  sacrifice,  and  to  exchange  their  foreign  money  for 
the  orthodox  Jewish  shekel. 

From  early  times  there  had  been  shops  of  merchants,  and  the  banks 
of  money-changers,  ranged  on  both  sides  of  the  Eastern  Gate — the 
gate  Shusan — as  far  as  Solomon's  Porch.  This  was  not  altogether 
seemly,  but  no  serious  mischief  would  have  been  done  if  the  evil  had 
stopped  there.  But  '  the  vicinity  of  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  with 
its  broad  spaces  and  long  arcades,  had  been  too  tempting  to  Jewish 
gceed.'  The  profane  example  of  Ben  Buta  was  soon  followed.  *  The 
chanujoth  of  the  shopkeepers,  the  exchange  booths  of  the  usurers, 
i^raduallv  crept  within  the  sacred  enclosure.'  The  priestly  party, 
which  w.is  in  active  enmity  against  Christ,  very  probably  enriched 
themselves  by  letting  off  the  spaces  of  the  court  to  these  traffickers, 
and  thev  were  especially  incensed  against  Him  for  at  once  stopping 
their  gains,  and  holding  them  up  to  reproach  for  practices  at  which 
they  connived. 

In  the  sight  of  our  Lord  the  sin  lay  in  thus  seeking  merely  selfish 
ends  where  God  alone  ought  to  have  been  sought.  It  seemed  to 
Him  the  highest  and  worst  expression  of  the  rampant  formalism 
which  had  displaced  spiritual  Judaism.  Even  the  place  of  worship 
was  defiled  to  the  use  of  man's  covetousness.  It  was  hypocrisy  to 
pretend  provision  for  the  Temple-service,  when  they  meant  only  to 
secure  personal  gain ;  and  our  Lord's  severest  things  were  said  and 
done  concerning  the  hypocrite  and  the  covetous.  He  was  *  filled  with 
righteous  scorn  at  such  mean  irreverence.' 

Kitto  explains  that,  'though  the  custom  had  in  its  origin  the  excuse 
of  public  convenience,  and  the  traffic  had  at  first  been  conducted 
with  that  subdued  decorum  which  the  sacred  place  exacted,  yet,  from 
the  progressing  corruptions  of  the  people,  many  foul  indecorums  had 
crept  in ;  and  the  merchants  and  brokers,  with  the  eager  cupidity 
which  had  already  become  their  characteristic,  soon  made  everything 
subservient  to  their  avarice  ;  and  their  noisy  toutings  and  keen 
hucksterings  not  only  defiled  the  sacred  courts,  but  greatly  disturbed 
those  who  came  to  worship  at  the  Temple.' 

It  has  been  seriously  questioned  whether  our  Lord  did,  in  fact, 
cleanse  the  Temple  courts,  in  a  similar  way,  on  two  distinct  occa- 
sions, and  with  an  interval  of  some  two  years.  It  is  certainly  remark- 


392      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

able  that  the  earlier  cleansing  is  omitted  by  the  Synoptists,  and  that 
there  is  no  reference  to  the  later  cleansing  by  the  fourth  Evangelist. 
Had  we  to  decide  upon  mere  probabilities,  we  should  certainly  say 
that  two  cleansings  so  near  together  were  unlikely,  and  that  the 
incident  more  naturally  connects  itself  with  our  Lord's  last  visit  to 
Jerusalem,  and  the  remarkable  public  assertion  of  His  royal  claims. 

Gnashing  of  Teeth. 

MATTHEW  viii.  12 :  *  But  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  cast  out  into 
outer  darkness  ;  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.' 

Question. — On  what  conditions  of  human  feeling  is  this  strong 
figure  based? 

Answer. — *  Gnashing '  of  teeth  is  the  natural  bodily  expression  of 
extreme  cold.  It  is  the  condition  of  one  who  is  turned  out  of  a 
heated  banqueting-hall  into  the  chill,  dark,  winter's  night,  clad  only  in 
his  light,  festal  robes.  We  are  more  familiar  with  the  very  similar 
expression  *  chattering  of  teeth.'  The  { outer  darkness '  is  the  gloom 
of  the  narrow  street,  which  was  not  provided  with  any  public  lights, 
and  was  even  a  place  of  danger  in  the  night-time. 

In  this  passage  our  Lord  is  not  dealing  with  the  final  conditions  of 
men  in  the  future  life,  but  with  the  relations  in  which  men  stood,  or 
would  stand,  to  the  new  dispensation,  the  new  kingdom,  which  He 
came  to  establish.  Unexpected  ones  would  be  found  within  the 
light  and  warmth  of  that  kingdom.  Expectant  ones,  who  pride 
themselves  on  their  mere  race-rights,  would  be  found  outside,  in  the 
cold  and  the  dark.  There  is  no  need  that  we  should  find  more  than  this 
reproof  and  warning  of  the  self-confident  ones  in  the  passage.  That 
is  a  reproof  and  warning  which  ought  to  come  searchingly  to  us  all 

Getkie  paraphrases  the  passage  thus  :  *  I  say  unto  you  that  many 
shall  come  from  the  east  and  west  and  lie  down  at  the  table  of  God 
in  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  as  honoured  guests,  with  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  while  the  Jew,  who  prided  himself  on  being,  by 
birth,  the  child  of  the  heavenly  kingdom,  and  despised  all  others,  as 
doomed  to  sit  in  the  darkness  outside  the  banquet-hall'  of  the 
Messiah,  will  have  to  change  places  with  them.' 

Some  curious  instances  have  been  collected  of  the  association  of 
the  wretchedness  of  extreme  cold  with  the  idea  of  hell.  The 
Scandinavian  demon  Hel,  phonetically  corresponding  with  Kali,  the 
Black  One  (Gothic,  Halja\  whose  abode  is  an  icy  hole,  has  her 
name  preserved  as  a  place  of  fiery  torment.  The  realm  called  Hades 
suggests  cold.  Tertullian  and  Jerome  say  that  Christ's  own  phrases, 


GNASHING  OF  TEETH.  393 

1  outer  darkness  '  and  the  *  gnashing  (chattering)  of  teeth,'  suggest  a 
place  of  extreme  cold  alternating  with  excessive  heat.  Traces  of 
similar  speculations  are  found  with  the  Rabbins.  Thus  Rabbi 
Joseph  says,  Gehenna  had  both  water  and  fire.  Noah  saw  the  angel 
of  Death  approaching,  and  hid  from  him  twelve  months.  Why 
twelve?  Because,  explains  Rabbi  Jehuda,  such  is  the  trial  of 
sinners,  six  in  water,  six  in  fire.  Dante,  following  Virgil,  has 
frigid  as  well  as  burning  hills ;  and  the  idea  was  refined  by  some 
scholiasts  to  a  statement  which  would  seem  to  make  the  alternations 
of  future  punishment  amount  to  a  severe  ague  and  fever.  In  Thibet 
hell  is  believed  to  have  sixteen  circles,  eight  burning,  eight  frozen. 
Plutarch,  relating  the  vision  of  Thespesius  in  Hades,  speaks  of  the 
frozen  regions  there.  Shakespeare  has  the  following  lines  in  '  Measure 
for  Measure ': 

1  The  delighted  spirit 

To  bathe  in  fiery  floods,  or  to  reside 

In  thrilling  region  of  thick -ribbed  ice.' 


In  Paradise. 

LUKE  xxiii.  43  :  *  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Verily  I  say  unto  thec,  to-day  shalt 
thou  be  with  Me  in  Paradise.' 

Question. — As  used  by  our  Lord,  was  this  merely  an  assurance  of 
coming  death,  or  was  it  an  explanation  of  what  the  condition  of  the 
thief  would  be  in  the  next  life  ? 

Answer. — A  careful  and  unprejudiced  examination  of  the  inci- 
dent with  which  this  passage  is  associated  is  extremely  difficult  to 
secure,  because  of  the  associations  with  it  which  have  been  fixed  for 
ages,  and  which  we  think  must  be  true  because  they  are  so  old. 
And  yet  the  fact  is  that  we  have  connected  our  thoughts  and  senti- 
ments about  being  *  in  Paradise '  with  it,  and  have  not  duly  endea- 
voured to  understand  the  sentiments  of  the  Jews,  the  sentiments 
which  both  our  Lord  and  the  thief  must  have  shared,  and  which  our 
Lord  expresses  in  His  assurance. 

Making  a  resolute  effort  to  divest  ourselves  of  long-established 
notions,  we  attempt  a  reverent  and  sympathetic  study  of  the  entire 
narrative. 

There  is  no  need  for  making  more  than  one  slight  alteration  of  the 
passage  as  we  have  it  in  the  Authorized  Version.  In  verse  42,  the 
expression  '  into  Thy  kingdom  '  should  be  rendered,  *  Lord,  remember 
me  when  Thou  comest  in  Thy  kingdom.' 

'  Paradise,'  as  a  figure  of  speech,  can  only  be  rightly  understood 


394      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

in  the  light  of  the  thoughts  that  were  familiar  to  the  Jews  of  our 
Lord's  time.  They  do  not  appear  to  have  conceived  what  the  con- 
dition of  the  soul  would  be  after  the  resurrection  and  the  judgment. 
They  strictly  limited  the  reach  of  their  imaginations  to  what  we  now 
call  the  *  the  intermediate  state.'  Their  general  name  for  the  place 
of  disembodied  spirits  was  Hades  (Greek),  or  Sheol  (Hebrew)  ;  but' 
in  a  very  natural  way,  this  one  place,  Hades,  was  thought  of  as 
divided  into  two  sections.  The  dual  division  of  men,  into  *  good ' 
and  'bad,'  must  have  its  counterpart  in  this  'intermediate  state.' 
And  so  the  gathering  place  of  the  good  came  to  be  known  as 
'  Paradise  ';  and  the  gathering  place  of  the  bad  was  called  '  Gehenna.' 
Both  together  made  up  the  abode  of  the  dead.  Now,  it  was  quite  ap- 
propriate for  Christ,  as  a  good  man,  to  say  that  on  His  death,  He 
would  go  to  the  part  of  Hades  known  as  Paradise  ;  and  it  was  most 
comforting  that  He  could  assure  the  poor  thief,  who  would  expect  to 
go  to  Gehenna,  that  he  should  be  with  Him  *  in  Paradise.' 

The  story  of  the  two  thieves  has  been  injured  by  being  taken 
from  its  natural  connections,  and  regarded  as  an  unrelated  incident ; 
whereas  the  truth  is,  that  these  crucified  malefactors  were  very  fully 
influenced  by  what  was  going  on  around  them.  Just  at  this  time  the 
Jews  were  again  and  again  agitated  by  the  uprising  of  persons  claim- 
ing to  be  Messiahs.  We  know  the  names  of  some  :  Theudas,  and 
Judas  of  Galilee.  Now,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  had  been  regarded  by 
many  as  only  another  of  these  impostors.  He  was  distinctly  con- 
demned for  claiming  ^to  be  Messiah  :  and  though  He  had  certainly 
done  many  mighty  works,  yet  His  yielding  to  arrest,  His  meek  attitude 
at  His  trial,  and  His  failure  to  deliver  Himself  by  miracle— things 
which  it  seemed  quite  impossible  to  associate  with  the  true  Messiah — 
deceived  His  enemies  into  the  conclusion  that  He  was  now  a  proved 
impostor. 

It  is  necessary  also  to  observe  that  these  incidents  of  our  passage 
occurred  during  the  earlier  part  of  the  crucifixion  time,  before  the 
darkness  had  fallen  about  the  cross,and  amid  the  shoutings  and  the 
raillery  which  accompanied  the  lifting  up  of  the  crosses  and  fixing 
them  firmly  in  the  ground,  Then  the  people  were  crowding  round., 
the  Jewish  rulers  stood  by,  and  all  joined  in  that  terrible  jeerinc 
which,  a  thousand  times  since  then,  has  greeted  the  appearance  of 
the  prisoner  on  the  scaffold.  What  a  pitiful  sight  it  was !  As  if 
utterly  to  scorn  those  Jews  who  had  compelled  him  to  do  a  judicial 
murder,  Pilate  had  put  over  this  helpless  crucified  claimant  to 
Messiahship  these  words  :  c  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews.' 
What  an  outburst  followed  the  sight  of  those  words  as  the  cross 


IN  PARADISE.  395 

was  raised  !  '  He's  no  King  of  the  Jews  !'  '  If  He  be  Christ,  let  Him 
come  down  from  the  cross  !'  Satire  blends  with  scorn  :  '  He  saved 
others  indeed,  or  professed  to  do  so  :  let  us  see  if  He  can  save  Him- 
self, now,  with  the  strong  nails  through  His  hands  and  feet.  Here  is 
a  grand  chance  for  Him,  if  He  be  Messiah  indeed.  Our  Messiah 
will  never  die  a  malefactor's  death.  He  will  save  Himself,  if  He  can; 
but,  see,  He  can't.  Behold,  there  He  is,  the  proved  impostor  of 
Nazareth,  dying  in  His  helplessness  and  shame !' 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  understand  this  story  unless  we  can  enter 
into  the  spirit  of  this  scene.  We  must  hear  that  one  cry,  4  Save 
thyself.'  *  Save  Thyself  and  us.'  *  If  Thou  be  the  Christ,  come  down 
from  the  cross ;  deliver  your  companions  ;  begin,  in  your  own  rescue 
from  death,  the  kingdom  of  which  you  spoke  so  much !'  One 
question  stirred  all  hearts  about  His  cross  until  they  heard  His  dying 
cry  :  '  Will  He  save  Himself  and  begin  His  kingdom  ?' 

Now,  we  may  venture  to  look  at  this  scene  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  praying  thief,  and  try  to  enter  into  his  thoughts.  He  was 
affected  by  the  near  approach  of  death.  Nearing  death  has  two 
effects  on  men.  Some  it  makes  scornfully  daring.  Some  it 
solemnizes  and  humbles.  This  man  felt  hurt  by  his  companion's 
scorn.  All  were  going  into  the  presence  of  their  Maker  and  Judge, 
and  at  least  he  might  feel  some  shame  when  he  remembered  that 
that  they  were  carrying  a  burden  of  crime,  while  their  companion 
was  dying  in  innocence,  *  He  had  done  nothing  amiss.'  And  as  he 
spoke  to  his  fellow-thief,  the  thought  came,  '  Perhaps,  after  all,  this  is 
the  Messiah.  If  He  is,  then  that  is  not  the  way  in  which  to  speak  to 
Him;  better  pray;  perhaps,  even  now,  He  will  put  forth  His  power, 
and  save  Himself  and  us  from  death.'  So  this  man's  prayer  to 
Christ  really  means  this  :  *  Lord,  I  know  Thou  art  not  about  really  to 
die  on  that  cross.  When  Thou  puttest  forth  Thy  power,  and  savest 
Thyself,  and  comest  in  Thy  kingdom,  Lord,  remember  me,  deliver 
ine !'  The  man  pleads  for  rescue  from  approaching  death.  And 
our  Lord's  answer  to  him  then  means:  'I  am  not  going  to  save 
Myself,  and  I  shall  not  save  you.  Do  not  rest  in  any  such  notion. 
This  very  day  we  shall  both  die,  and  go  to  Paradise.' 

The  expression,  then,  *  in  Paradise  '  may  be  accepted  as  a  simple 
poetic  setting  of  the  fact  that  on  that  very  day  they  both  should  die  ; 
they  both  should  be  in  the  realm  of  the  dead ;  and  there  is  no  need 
for  us  to  force  aside  the  veil  that  so  wisely  hides  from  human  view 
the  mysteries  of  the  future  state,  which  human  intelligence  is  as  yet 
unfitted  to  apprehend. 


SECTION  111. 
DIFFICULTIES   RELATING  TO  THE  MIRACULOUS. 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE. 

*  WITH  God  all  things  are  possible.'  In  dealing  with  this  class  of 
difficulties,  we  cherish  the  reverent  sentiment  which  is  so  effectively 
expressed  by  Job  (ch.  xlii.  2),  * 1  know  that  Thou  canst  do  every- 
thing.' Doubt  of  the  Divine  power  to  do  more  marvellous  things 
than  any  which  are  recorded,  we  will  give  no  place  to.  *  Allah 
Akbarj  '  God  is  great.'  We  will  not  even  think  of  limitations  of  His 
illimitable  power.  Anything  and  everything  which  is  not  ridiculous 
in  the  statement  God  can  do.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  God  cannot 
make  two  and  two  count  five,  or  set  two  things  in  the  same  place  at 
the  same  time.  But  these  are  not  *  impossibilities  ' ;  they  are  foolish 
statements ;  the  impossibilities  in  them  only  belong  to  the  conditions 
under  which  human  thinking  is  placed. 

But  what  we  have  reverently  to  ask  is  this — not  what  God  can  do, 
but  what  He  has  been  pleased  to  do.  We  are  to  accept  the  revelation 
which  He  has  given  us,  and  try  to  understand  it,  fully  assured  that 
revelation  means  '  light.'  If  He  is  pleased  to  show  us  the  methods 
of  His  working,  or  permits  us  to  recognise  the  agencies  He  uses, 
then  it  is  becoming,  it  is  right,  that  we  should  learn  all  we  possibly 
can  concerning  His  ways  and  His  means,  assured  that  they  will  prove 
to  us  valuable  helps  towards  the  better  knowing  of  Him. 

In  this  spirit  we  propose  to  deal  with  the  miracles  recorded  in 
Scripture ;  not  desiring  to  be  wise  above  what  is  written,  but  regard- 
ing the  revealed  Word  as  given  us  to  be  studied  and  understood — all 
the  better  understood  as  man's  general  and  scientific  knowledge 
advances,  and  throws  sidelights  upon  the  Book.  Nothing  approach- 
ing to  an  exhaustive  discussion  is  in  any  case  attempted ;  there 


INTROD UCTOR  Y  NOTE.  397 

could  only  be  such  views  of  miraculous  incidents  presented  as  may 
reasonably  be  taken  in  these  days  of  keen  Biblical  criticism  and 
enlarged  scientific  knowledge. 

The  point  which  it  is  proposed  variously  to  illustrate,  in  dealing 
with  Bible  miracles,  is  that  man's  knowledge  is  strictly  limited  to  thai 
which  has  been  revealed  to  him — either  directly  through  his  senses,  in 
relation  to  the  world  of  things  in  the  midst  of  which  he  is  set ;  or, 
mediately,  through  the  operations  of  his  mind  on  the  material  thus 
offered  to  his  senses;  or,  further,  by  the  special  communications 
which  God  may  be  pleased  to  make  in  His  written  Word,  or  by  the 
lips  of  His  servants. 

All  man's  knowledge  is  revelational.  But  this  is  to  affirm  that 
it  is  a  part  only  of  the  great  whole  of  truth  and  life — just  the  part 
that  suffices  for  the  particular  life  on  this  earth  which  man  is  required 
to  live.  Out  of  the  infinite  treasury  he  is  furnished  with  just  so 
much  as  he  needs  for  the  present.  Whatsoever  comes  to  any  man,  at 
any  time,  as  a  glimpse  of  the  infinite  truth  and  life,  he  calls 
miraculous  ;  he  may  even,  with  some  propriety,  call  it  *  supernatural,' 
because  it  transcends  that  sphere  of '  Nature '  with  which  he  alone  is 
familiar.  It  is  strictly  the  higher  natural,  the  higher  order,  and  is 
simply  another  order  than  that  with  which  our  senses  and  our 
faculties  are  set  in  relation. 

It  is,  no  doubt,  very  difficult  for  us  to  conceive  of  any  other  than 
this  *  natural  order '  with  which  we  are  now  associated.  A  certain 
piece  or  part  of  the  *  universal  order '  has  been  revealed  to  us  ;  but 
we  have  no  right  to  argue  that  all  the  forces  working  in  the  universe 
are  working  in  this  our  world,  or  even  that  they  are  all  illustrated 
by  forces  that  are  working  here.  Perhaps  the  simplest  aid  we  can 
secure  towards  a  clear  apprehension  of  this  distinction  may  be  gained 
by  conceiving  of  beings  among  us  who  have  seven  senses  or  ten 
senses.  Such  persons  would  have  apprehensions  of  existing  things 
which  are  absolutely  closed  to  us ;  and  yet  everything  that  they  know 
would  be  strictly  in  the  sphere  of  the  '  natural'  If  any  one  of  us 
has  that  gift  known  as  '  second  sight,'  or  the  '  mesmeric '  power,  we 
do  not  think  of  them  as  accomplishing  anything  miraculous ;  they 
only  have  apprehension  of  a  natural  order  which  is  at  present  beyond 
the  vision  and  ability  of  ordinary  men.  Dr.  Horace  Bushnell  puts 
the  distinction  in  very  felicitous  terms  :  *  Nature  is  not  in  any  proper 
and  complete  sense  the  system  of  God,  but  is  in  fact  a  subordinate 
member  only  of  a  higher  and  virtually  supernatural  system,  to  whose 
uses  it  is  subject.  It  is  in  fact  a  Thing ;  while  the  real  Kingdom  of 
God  is  a  Kingdom  of  Powers,  Himself  the  Regal  Power.  ....  Not 


398      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES 

even  miracles,  wrought  by  a  supernatural  Divine  agency,  necessarily 
imply  any  removal  or  suspension  of  its  laws  (laws  of  Nature) ;  for 
Nature  is  subjected  by  her  laws,  both  to  God's  activity  and  to  ours, 
to  be  thus  acted  on  and  varied  in  her  operation  by  the  new  combi- 
nations or  conjunctions  of  causes  they  are  able  to  produce.' 

The  same  view  is  reached  along  another  line  of  thought.  All  the 
processes  of  thinking,  under  our  present  human  conditions,  are  de- 
pendent on  two  primary  conceptions,  those  of  'Time'  and  of 
'Space.'  We  can  only  think  things  in  sequence;  one  must  be 
before  or  behind  the  other.  And  everything  must  take  room ;  it 
must  lie  beside  something  else.  But  *  time '  and  '  space '  are  purely 
earthly  conditions.  They  determine  marts  thinking ;  but  they  need 
not  determine  the  thinking  of  every  creature  God  has  made,  as  they 
certainly  do  not  determine  the  thinking  of  God,  to  whom  ' time '  is 
an  eternal  'now,'  and  'space'  is  infinite.  Some  of  the  so-called 
*  miracles  '  are  really  no  more  than  time-puzzles;  things  done  at  once 
which  men  say  cannot  be  done  except  in  time.  If  corn-plants  usually 
took  twelve  months  for  their  ripening,  we  should  'call  it  a  miracle 
that,  in  a  given  case,  they  ripened  in  six  months.  And  now  that  they 
ripen  in  six,  we  think  it  a  miracle  that  they  should,  in  a  given  case, 
ripen  in  an  hour. 

In  treating  of  miracles  a  clear  distinction  should  be  made  between 
an  Atheistic  and  a  Theistic  standpoint.  We  make  no  attempt  to 
discuss  the  abstract  question  of  the  miraculous  from  the  Atheistic 
position.  We  believe  in  God — a  personal,  living  Being,  Creator  of 
all  things,  Controller  of  all  forces,  for  whose  supreme  pleasure  every- 
thing is,  acts,  and  maintains  relations. 

Many  definitions  of  '  miracle  '  have  been  attempted.  None  have 
yet  been  generally  accepted,  and  recognised  as  undoubtedly  satis- 
factory. If  we  deal  with  miracle  apart  from  its  special  Scriptural 
features,  it  should  seem  sufficient  to  say  that  by  a  miracle  we  mean 
4  any  event  for  which  we  are  unable  to  assign  an  antecedent  or  a  cause.' 
If  we  can  explain  a  thing — or,  if  we  have  experience  or  knowledge 
that  enables  us  to  trace  how  a  thing  has  come  about — then  we  do 
not  call  it  a  miracle. 

But  this  at  once  brings  up  to  view  the  fact,  that  different  things 
will  be  called  miracles  at  different  times.  Given  an  age  in  which 
man's  knowledge  is  limited  and  his  observation  superficial,  and  in 
such  an  age  miracles  will  abound.  One  half  the  things  man  has  to  do 
with  will  seem  to  be  supernatural;  unusual  operations  of  nature,  storms, 
ice,  eclipses,  earthquakes,  etc.,  will  be  treated  as  miraculous.  But 
such  things  are  only  *  miracle  '  in  the  sense  of  being  beyond  the  know- 


1NTRODUCTOR  Y  NOTE.  390 

kdge  and  experience  of  the  age.  '  In  the  remoter  and  more  primitive 
ages  of  the  world,  it  will  be  observed  that  mankind,  whether  by 
reason  of  some  native  instinct  as  yet  uncorrupted,  or  some  native 
weakness  yet  uneradicated,  were  abundantly  disposed  to  believe  in 
things  supernatural.  They  had  little  thought  of  nature  as  an  existing 
scheme  of  order  and  law.  Everything  was  supernatural.  The  universe 
itself,  in  all  its  parts,  was  only  a  vast  theatre  in  which  the  gods  and 
demi-gods  were  acting  their  parts.' 

Given  an  age  in  which  knowledge  abounds  and  observation  is 
keen  and  precise,  and  then  the  miraculous  will  be  set  under  the 
narrowest  possible  limitations.  Let  a  miracle  be  asserted,  and  men 
will  at  once  submit  its  evidence  to  the  most  searching  tests,  and 
disprove  the  miraculous  in  it  if  they  possibly  can.  They  will  trace 
its  causes,  connections,  and  processes,  and  identify  its  laws  with  such 
as  are  already  recognised  as  'natural  laws.' 

Then  the  evidential  value  of  a  so-called  *  miracle  '  depends  upon 
the  impression  which  it  makes  on  those  for  whom  the  miracle  was 
first  wrought.  No  miracle  or  unusual  event  can  be  an  evidence  of 
equal  value  to  all  persons,  or  in  all  ages.  Its  power  is  relative.  And 
we  have  to  ask  :  What  was  the  value  of  the  miracle  as  evidence,  or, 
better,  as  revelation,  when  it  occurred^  and  to  those  for  whose  sake  it 
was  wrought  ?  Because  its  miraculous  character  has  been  removed 
for  us  by  advancing  knowledge,  we  have  no  right  to  declare  it  false 
in  itself,  or  to  say  that  it  deceived  those  to  whom  it  first  came. 

Revelation  must  always  be  relational.  A  perfect  revelation  could 
only  come  to  perfect  and  perfectly  furnished  beings.  Qualified  and 
limited  revelations  alone  are  adapted  to  a  race  which  is  advancing  in 
knowledge  by  stages.  It  may  very  well  be  that  at  some  stages,  the 
best  possible  revelation  is  that  which  convinces  of  the  direct  inter- 
vention of  God. 

In  considering  the  miraculous,  as  presented  in  the  Scriptures,  this 
point  should  be  kept  well  in  mind :  Every  Bible  miracle  must  be 
studied  in  its  setting.  If  we  can  explain  its  processes,  those  for  whom 
it  was  wrought  could  not.  And  both  of  us  get  the  true  lesson  and 
influence  of  the  miracle,  when  the  one  says :  '  God  wrought  it  in 
ways  that  I  eannot  explain  ;'  and  the  other  says  :  *  God  wrought  it  in 
ways  that  I  can  explain.'  The  essential  thing  for  both  of  us  is  that 
God  wrought  it. 

In  precisely  this  lies  the  value,  for  all  the  ages,  of  the  records  of 
Bible  miracles.  They  are  impressions  of  the  Divine  working,  and 
revelations  of  the  Divine  character.  The  more  fully  we,  in  these  days, 
can  see  that  the  Divine  Being,  always  and  everywhere,  works  along 


400      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  lines  of  His  own  orderly  laws,  the  more  perfect  should  be  our 
reverence  for  Him  and  trust  in  Him.  It  is  not  in  the  least  degree 
necessary  to  a  true  and  reverent  view  of  God,  that  we  should  conceive 
of  Him  as  the  embodiment  of  a  power  that  works  oddly,  impulsively, 
or  spasmodically. 

We  must,  however,  give  careful  attention  to  the  very  important 
relations  which  a  personal  will  may  bear  in  the  orderly  outworking 
and  application  of  any  system  of  laws,  for  in  this  direction  will  be 
found  the  true  explanation  of  the  miraculous.  There  is  a  system  of 
fixed  laws  which  regulates  the  wise  ordering  of  a  man's  private  life 
and  conduct;  but  the  man's  personal  will  modifies,  controls,  and 
arranges  the  working  together  of  those  laws.  There  is  a  system  of 
laws  for  the  government  of  families  ;  but,  for  high  moral  ends,  those 
laws  are  set  in  fresh  measures  and  relations  by  the  parental  will.  So 
we  are  to  understand  there  is  a  higher  spiritual  order — the  superior 
law  of  the  Divine  Will,  which  may  overrule  and  readjust  the  relations 
of  the  ordinary  laws. 

This  point  is  of  so  great  importance,  that  we  may  restate  it  under 
the  authority  of  some  honoured  names. 

It  is  not  more  clearly  presented  than  by  R  W.  Robertson 
('Sermons,'  ii.  40) :  'What  we  call  laws  are  simply  the  subordinate 
expressions  of  a  will.  There  must  be  a  will  before  there  can  be  a 
law.  Certain  antecedents  are  followed  by  certain  consequents. 
When  we  see  this  succession,  we  are  satisfied,  and  call  it  natural. 
But  there  are  emergencies  in  which  it  may  be  necessary  for  the  will 
to  assert  itself,  and  become  not  the  mediate,  but  the  immediate 
antecedent  to  the  consequent.  No  subordinate  agent  interposes; 
simply  the  first  cause  comes  in  contact  with  a  result.  The  audible 
expression  of  will  is  followed  immediately  by  something  which  is 
generally  preceded  by  some  lower  antecedent,  which  we  call  a 
cause.  A  miracle  is  the  manifestation  to  man  of  the  voluntariness  of 
power.' 

Taking  illustration  from  the  controlling  power  given  to  the  human 
will,  Dr.  Horace  Bushnell  argues  thus  :  '  What  an  immense  action 
upon  nature  are  we  ourselves  seen  to  have,  as  a  race,  when  we  con- 
sider the  multifarious  wheels  and  engines  we  have  put  to  work,  the 
heavy  burdens  we  carry  round  the  globe  in  our  ships,  the  structures 
we  raise,  the  cultivation  we  practise  !  We  make  the  world  in  fact 
another  world.  All  of  which  is  referable  to  a  force  supernatural  in 
the  last  degree.  Nature,  unapplied  or  uncombined  by  our  wills, 
could  do  no  such  thing.  Wills  only  have  this  power,  and  wills  are 
supernatural.  If  now  we  have  a  power  so  immense  over  the  world 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE.  401 

as  we  see  in  all  our  works  and  wonders  of  contrivance,  is  it  credible 
that  God  can  have  no  way  of  access  to  nature,  no  power  at  all 
over  nature?  Is  He  the  only  Will  excluded  from  a  sovereignty 
over  it?' 

There  are  two  tendencies  in  relation  to  the  miraculous,  as  recorded 
in  Scripture,  both  of  which  the  careful  and  reverent  student  anxiously 
resists.  One  is  the  tendency  to  exaggerate  the  miraculous  element, 
and  find  the  supernatural  everywhere.  This  is  a  weak  and  a  weaken- 
ing tendency,  and  does  not  honour  the  great  Wonder-worker ;  while 
its  results  excite  the  scoffings  of  the  ungodly.  If  we  firmly  hold  that 
God  is  in  all  the  orders  and  systems  of  laws,  as  the  supreme  user  and 
controller,  in  those  at  any  time  known  to  men,  and  in  those  unknown, 
we  can  at  once  accept  any  adequate  explanation  that  may  be  given 
of  a  so-called  miracle,  and  say  concerning  it,  that  we  will  no  longer 
call  it  a  miracle,  for  in  that  case  God  evidently  wrought  through  the 
ordinary  and  known  processes  of  nature. 

One  of  our  purposes  in  dealing  with  the  difficulties  connected 
with  the  miraculous  which  are  found  in  our  Scriptures,  is  to  relieve 
the  Sacred  Book  of  some  of  the  needless  burdens  which  it  has  been 
compelled  to  bear.  We  hope  to  find  God  in  nature,  where  our 
fathers  thought  they  found  God  working  beyond  nature ;  and  we 
would  learn  to  adore  the  Wisdom  that  devised  a  system  of  laws  that 
proves  adequate  to  explain  so  many  more  cases  than  we  had  supposed 
— a  system  so  perfect  that  it  is  seen  to  need  fewer  exceptions  than 
we  had  imagined. 

The  other  tendency  is  to  eliminate  the  miraculous.  With  the 
rationalistic  spirit  we  have  no  sympathy,  because,  in  seeking  to  explain 
the  genesis  of  all  so-called  miracles,  it  seeks  to  remove  all  sense  of 
God,  all  need  for  God.  And  miserable,  indeed,  are  the  shifts  to  which 
the  rationalistic  genius  is  put,  demanding  from  us  a  harder  measure 
of  faith  than  any  series  of  Bible  miracles.  While  we  willingly  give 
heed  to  all  natural  explanations  that  can  be  soberly  offered,  we  refuse 
to  give  up  any  one  case  in  which  the  explanation  suggested  proves 
inadequate,  and  the  directness  of  the  Divine  dealing — acting  in  lines 
and  laws  of  the  higher,  supernatural  order — is  still  manifest. 

It  will  be  difficult  to  obtain  a  better  definition  of  miracle  than  this: 
'  It  is  God  working  out  His  purposes  through  the  natural  order  in 
an  extraordinary  way.'  By  '  extraordinary,'  meaning  simply  this : 
'  otnerwise  than  men  have  any  experience.' 

Miracles  are  not  temporary  subversions  of  the  Divine  order,  but 
operations  in  that  higher  line  of  Divine  order  which,  as  yet,  is  only 

26 


4c2      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

occasionally  revealed  to  men — a  higher  order  of  which  this  earthly 
order  is  simply  a  harmonious  specimen,  or  part,  or  illustration. 

In  dealing  with  the  Scripture  Difficulties  connected  with  the 
miraculous,  we  shall  find  many  cases  in  which  the  unusual  feature  is 
not  the  thing  done,  but  the  extent  of  the  thing,  the  quantity  of  the 
thing,  or  the  timeliness  of  its  doing.  In  these  cases  we  come  upon 
the  border  line  between  the  *  Miraculous  '  and  the  *  Providential ' ; 
and,  perhaps,  L  we  had  worthier  ideas  of  the  '  Providential,'  that  word 
would  suffice  for  all  such  cases. 

We  propose  to  keep  the  following  things  always  before  us  in  our 
treatment  oi  this  section  of  '  Biblical  Difficulties ' : 

1.  To  recognise,  as  readily  as  possible,  the  natural  agencies  which 
God  was  generally  pleased  to  use. 

2.  To   observe  carefully  the  unusual  features   in   His   mode  of 
using  them. 

3.  To  trace  the  immediate  effect  of  the  miracle  on  those  for  whose 
sake  it  was  first  wrought. 

4.  To  discover  the  precise  moral  purpose  of  the  miracle  in  relation 
to  the  Divine  education  of  the  race. 

We  are  supremely  anxious  to  conserve  the  Bible  miracles  for  all 
intelligent  and  thoughtful  readers ;  but  we  are  even  more  supremely 
anxious  to  conserve  the  reality  of  the  Divine  rule  in  this  world  of 
things  and  laws ;  and  to  enlarge  the  general  conception  of  that  rule, 
by  showing  how  it  uses  forces  which  are  not  as  yet  altogether  revealed 
to  men. 

It  may  be  well  to  add — as  is  done  in  each  of  the  paragraphs — 
some  extracts  from  writers  on  various  aspects  of  this  question  of  the 
miraculous,  whose  views  may  be  regarded  as  lying  in  the  same  plane 
with  those  to  which  expression  has,  in  this  Introductory  note,  been 
somewhat  fully  given. 

I. — The  Relations  of  Miracle  to  Nature. 

Archbishop  Trench  uses  careful  and  precise  language  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  these  relations  :  *  But  while  the  miracle  is  not  thus  nature, 
so  neither  is  it  against  nature.  That  language,  however  commonly 
in  use,  is  yet  wholly  unsatisfactory,  which  speaks  of  these  wonderful 
works  of  God  as  violations  of  a  natural  law.  Beyond  nature,  beyona 
and  above  the  nature  which  we  know,  they  are,  but  not  contrary  to 

it.     Nor  let  it  be  said  that  this  distinction  is  an  idle  one 

The  miracle   is   not  thus  unnatural^  nor  can  it  be,  since  the  un- 
natural, the  contrary  to  order,  is  of  itself  the  ungodly,  and  can  in 


INTRO D UCTOR  Y  NOTE.  403 

no  way,  therefore,  be  affirmed  of  a  Divine  work,  such  as  that  with 
which  we  have  to  do.  The  very  idea  of  the  world,  as  more  than  one 
name  which  it  bears  testifies,  is  that  of  an  order  ;  that  which  comes 
in  then  to  enable  it  to  realize  this  idea  which  it  has  lost,  will  scarcely 
itself  be  a  disorder.  So  far  from  this,  the  true  miracle  is  a  higher 
and  a  purer  nature,  coming  down  out  of  the  world  of  untroubled 
harmonies  into  this  world  of  ours,  which  so  many  discords  have 
jarred  and  disturbed,  and  bringing  this  back  again,  though  it  be  but 
for  one  mysterious  prophetic  moment,  into  harmony  with  that  higher. 
The  healing  of  the  sick  can  in  no  way  be  termed  against  nature,  seeing 
that  the  sickness  which  was  healed  was  against  the  true  nature  of 
man,  that  it  is  sickness  which  is  abnormal,  and  not  health.  The 
healing  is  the  restoration  of  the  primitive  order.  We  should  term  the 
miracle  not  the  infraction  of  a  law,  but  behold  in  it  the  lower  law 

neutralized,  and  for  the  time  put  out  of  working  by  a  higher 

In  the  miracle,  this  world  of  ours  is  drawn  into  and  within  a  higher 
order  of  things ;  laws  are  then  at  work  in  the  world,  which  are  not 
the  laws  of  its  fallen  condition,  for  they  are  laws  of  mightier  range 
and  higher  perfection  ;  and  as  such  they  claim  to  make  themselves 
felt,  and  to  have  the  pre-eminence  and  predominance  which  are 
rightly  their  own.' 

F.  W.  Robertson  presents  the  following  view :  '  A  miracle  is  com- 
monly defined  to  be  a  contravention  of  the  laws  of  nature.  More 
properly  speaking,  it  is  only  a  higher  operation  of  those  same  laws 
in  a  form  hitherto  unseen.  A  miracle  is,  perhaps,  no  more  a  sus- 
pension or  contradiction  of  the  laws  of  nature  than  a  hurricane  or  a 
thunderstorm.  They  who  first  travelled  in  tropical  latitudes  came 
back  with  anecdotes  of  supernatural  convulsions  of  the  elements.  In 
truth,  it  was  only  that  they  had  never  personally  witnessed  such 
effects ;  but  the  hurricane  which  swept  the  waves  flat,  and  the  light- 
ning which  illuminated  all  the  heaven,  or  played  upon  the  bayonets 
or  masts  in  lambent  flames,  were  but  effects  of  the  very  same  laws  of 
electricity  and  meteorology  which  were  in  operation  at  home,' 

II. — Definitions  of  Miracles. 

A  work,  effect,  or  occurrence  happening  out  of  the  ordinary  course 
of  Providence,  or  effected  by  suspension  of  natural  or  physical  laws. 

A  Divine  interposition  or  exercise  of  Almighty  power. 

Works  involving  a  temporary  suspension  of  the  known  laws  of 
nature;  or  a  deviation  from  the  established  constitution  and  fixed 
order  of  the  universe ;  or,  perhaps,  more  correctly,  of  that  depart 

26 — a 


4o4      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

ment  of  the  universe  which  constitutes  our  own  system — whose 
established  order  and  laws  we  are  capable,  to  the  full  extent  requisite 
for  our  purpose,  of  ascertaining. —  Wardlaw. 

Such  a  control  of  natural  causes  as  bespeaks  the  intervention  of  a 
cause  to  which  they  are  all  secondary  and  obedient. — Dr.  Robert 
Vaughan. 

A  miracle  is  a  work,  event,  or  junction  of  events  out  of  the  course 
of  nature  and  beyond  the  power  of  man. — Professor  W.  Griffiths. 

A  miracle  is  a  manifestation  to  man  of  the  voluntariness  of 
power. — F.  W.  Robertson. 

A  miracle  is  an  abridged  word  which  admonishes  us  that  Deity  is 
there. —  Vinet, 

III. — The  Value  of  Miracles  as  Evidence. 

This  we  have  not  found  more  calmly  or  more  wisely  treated  any- 
where than  by  Frederick  Myers  ((  Catholic  Thoughts,'  pp.  276-280) : 
'  Of  all  kinds  of  external  evidences  that  of  miracles  has  been  most 
unduly  exaggerated,  and  a  weight  has  been  made  to  rest  upon  it 
which  it  now  seems  to  many  ill-calculated  to  bear,  and  which,  judging 
from  the  Bible  alone,  it  could  scarcely  have  been  intended  to  bear. 
And  if  this  be  true,  it  is  surely  wise  for  all  who  have  been  committing 
to  it  much  of  the  faith  of  others,  or  of  their  own,  to  re-examine  from 
time  to  time  the  degree  of  the  stability  of  their  dependence. 

*  Doubtless  those  objections  which  resolve  themselves  into  the 
denial  of  the  possibility  of  miracle  are  unreasonable.  They  proceed 
on  an  assumption  of  a  knowledge  of  the  powers  and  purposes  con- 
nected with  man's  history,  which  no  one  can  show  that  he  possesses 
or  can  possess;  and  also  on  that  of  the  spiritual  world  being  governed 
by  laws  strictly  analogous  to  those  by  which  the  material  world  is 
governed.  But  the  modes  of  God's  operation  can  only  justly  be 
regarded  by  us  as  infinite  :  and  in  the  small  portion  of  the  spiritual 
world  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  there  are  more  things  seemingly 
miraculous  than  things  that  we  can  bring  into  the  sequence  of  cause 
and  effect  All  will  and  all  original  thought  are  for  us  miraculous  ; 
whatever,  indeed,  is  spontaneous  must  ever  seem  to  us  supernatural. 
And  thus  there  can  be  no  conclusive  antecedent  objection  of  the 
metaphysical  kind  to  the  occurrence  of  miracles.  The  question  is 
one  purely  historical,  and  to  be  decided  by  testimony.  But  at  the 
same  time  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  most  cultivated  minds  have 
a  strong  disposition  to  object  to  any  interference  with  the  laws  of 
nature,  either  by  spirit  or  otherwise,  in  any  particular  case,  and  more 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE.  405 

especially  when  the  preternatural  is  exalted  as  more  Divine  than  the 
natural.  And  for  those  who  have  been  taught  to  trust  much  in 
spiritual  things  to  natural  analogies,  so  strong  is  the  analogy  of 
nature  against  any  miraculous  interference  with  its  laws  by  the  Great 
Lawgiver,  that  this  state  of  mind  is  so  reasonable  that  it  may  fairly 
be  said,  that  belief  in  the  existence  of  miracle  can  for  them  only 
justly  be  demanded  on  the  production  of  evidence  for  its  occurrence 
very  much  more  weighty  than  for  that  of  any  historical  fact.  And 
objections  to  this  evidence  may  often  be  of  great  weight  when  drawn 
either  from  moral  considerations  respecting  the  nature  and  purpose 
of  the  asserted  miracle,  or  from  those  critical  considerations  which 
are  connected  with  all  personal  and  documentary  proof.  And  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  burden  of  proof  lies  always  on  those 
who  assert  the  occurrence  of  the  miracle ;  no  preliminary  burden 
of  disproof  on  those  whose  belief  in  it  is  demanded  And  then,  too, 
let  us  remember  that  it  is  not  obviously  just  to  expect  or  require  that 
the  same  effect  should  be  produced  on  any  mind  by  the  mere  record 
'of  a  miracle  that  might  fairly  be  expected  or  required  from  one 
witnessing  the  miracle  itself.  For  it  requires  a  very  strong  faculty 
of  historic  imagination  to  be  much  affected  by  the  mere  record  of  a 
miracle,  and  while  we  by  no  means  theoretically  disbelieve  it,  we  may 
not  at  the  same  time  be  able  so  vividly  to  apprehend  it  as  to  believe 
it  influentially. 

'  And  then,  again,  we  may  consider  whether  the  merely  historical 
evidence  for  the  credibility  of  the  documents  which  contain  the 
records  of  the  Biblical  miracles  is  very  much  greater  than  that  of  any 
ordinary  historical  documents.  For  the  evidence  for  the  credibility 
of  the  Sacred  Books  depends  for  a  large  measure  of  its  conclusive- 
ness  on  moral  considerations;  and,  if  this  be  so,  then  if  we  introduce 
moral  considerations  largely  into  our  data  for  establishing  the  credi- 
bility of  the  documents  upon  the  evidence  of  which  we  are  called 
upon  to  believe  the  miracle,  we  may  justly  also  be  allowed  to  introduce 
moral  considerations  into  our  data  for  estimating  the  credibility  of 
the  miracle  itself.  And  if  we  do  this,  we  shall  find  that  ultimately 
we  come  to  the  result  that  the  revelation  supports  the  miracles  as 
much  as  the  miracles  support  the  revelation.' 

Professor  W.  Griffiths  says  :  '  Miracles  indicate  superhuman  know- 
ledge or  power;  else  they  do  not  deserve  the  name,  and  must  be 
traced  to  artifice  or  chance.  But  miracles  do  not  in  themselves 
prove  the  moral  quality,  much  less  the  divinity,  of  the  source  whence 
they  spring.  Our  safeguard  against  deception  is,  partly  the  scale  on 


406      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

which  the  work  is  done,  but  chiefly  the  moral  influence  which 
accompanies  it.  The  question,  Can  miracles  in  any  case  compel 
belief  of  doctrine?  is  curious  rather  than  practical  It  does  not  come 
before  us  in  connection  with  the  wonders  of  the  Bible,  and  may  be 
banished  to  the  domain  of  those  subtleties  which  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  duties  of  life.  The  Scripture  miracle  is  closely  allied  to 
some  spiritual  truth  that  speaks  for  itself.  In  revelation  we  have  to 
deal  with  the  sign  as  clothed  with  instruction,  and  are  not  bound 
to  determine  what  might  be  its  effect  if  it  stood  naked  and  alone. 

'According  to  Scripture,  therefore,  miracles  are  in  themselves 
neither  useless  nor  of  supreme  authority.  The  sensuous  does  not 
override  or  supplant  the  spiritual,  but  acts  as  its  handmaid  only. 
The  proof  from  signs,  though  necessary,  is  not  absolute,  and  leaves 
room  for  appeal  to  the  court  of  intellect  and  moral  affection,  the 
ultimate  tribunal  The  evidence  is  of  a  mixed  order ;  the  word 
and  the  token  go  together,  and  accomplish  between  them  what  would 
be  impossible  to  either  by  itself.' 


JACOB  AND  THE  ANGELS.  407 


Jacob  and  the  Angels. 

GENESIS  xxxii.  1,  24:  'And  Jacob  went  on  his  way,  and  the  angels  of  God 
met  him.'  '  And  Jacob  was  left  alone  ;  and  there  wrestled  a  man  with  him  until 
the  breaking  of  the  day.' 

Difficulty. — If  tJiese  statements  are  historical,  they  involve  mi- 
raculous interventions.  If  they  describe  mental  and  spiritual  visions, 
they  are  true  to  nature,  and  there  is  no  room  for  miracle. 

Explanation. — It  is  quite  true  that  visions  may  take  extra- 
ordinary forms,  and  be  remarkably  vivid ;  to  the  person  receiving 
them  even  seeming  to  be  real ;  and  yet,  because  they  take  no  place 
in  the  world  of  fact,  they  cannot  be  regarded  as  miraculous.  It  is 
not  beyond,  or  otherwise  to,  the  natural  order,  that  God  should  have 
direct  access  to  man's  mind,  and  speak  to  him  through  his  thoughts 
and  imaginations.  St  Paul  speaks  of  *  visions  and  revelations  of  the 
Lord/  without  regarding  them  as  miraculous.  We  are  familiar  with 
the  strange  combinations  and  the  dramatic  situations  of  our  dream- 
times,  when  the  will  no  longer  controls  the  selections  from  the  passing 
mental  associations;  and  it  is  in  the  regular  order  of  nature  that 
God's  will  should,  when  He  may  please,  guide  the  selections  and 
combinations,  and  so  give  visions  which  should  be  revelations. 

We  may,  however,  hesitate  to  class  the  latter  case  of  Jacob's 
wrestling  with  such  Divine  visions.  The  sight  of  the  ladder  and  the 
moving  angels  was  clearly  a  night-vision.  The  sight  of  angel- 
defenders  at  Mahanaim  was  very  probably  a  day-vision.  And,  on 
the  face  of  it,  we  should  certainly  expect  to  regard  the  wrestling 
scene  as  a  night-vision ;  and  we  are  only  checked  by  the  very  strange 
fact  that,  after  it,  Jacob  is  said  to  have  *  halted,'  or  *  limped/  as  if  he 
had  suffered  some  physical  injury  in  the  course  of  an  actual  bodily 
struggle. 

Almost  universally  the  scene  at  Mahanaim  is  recognised  as  a  vision. 
'  In  a  dream  he  saw  the  angels  encamped  on  each  side  of  him,  to 
assure  him  of  protection  against  his  brother.' 

Many  commentators  regard  the  wrestling  at  Peniel  as  an  allegory ; 
and  some  see  in  it  an  actual  presence  of  an  angel,  or  Divine 
messenger,  in  human  form.  On  the  whole  the  view  supported  by 
Dr.  C.  Geikie  may  be  preferred.  He  says :  *  It  is  not  necessary  to 
materialize  the  scene;  for  the  soul  is  the  true  sphere  of  that  wrestling 
which  secures  spiritual  blessing.  Nor  does  even  the  halting  on  his 
thigh  involve  any  physical  struggle,  though  it  implies  miraculous 


4o8      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

agency.  Its  lesson  is  only  an  enforcement  of  what  had  preceded — 
that  human  policy  is  no  safe  reliance,  but  that  he  must  trust  in  God. 
The  mighty  struggle  was  that  of  God  with  the  still  resisting  evil  of 
his  nature ;  a  struggle  which  cannot  be  spared  anyone  destined  to 
high  spiritual  ends,  and  conscious  of  being  so.' 

On  that  strain  of  the  sciatic  nerve,  which  involved  Jacob's  lame 
ness,  and  which  Geikie  thinks  necessarily  implies  miraculous  agency, 
Keil  makes  a  suggestion  which  commends  itself  as  reasonable : 
'  Soul-struggles  in  vision  might  present  themselves  under  the  form  of 
bodily  labour  and  wrestlings  of  the  soul,  since  in  the  vision  the  whole 
spiritual  process  is  represented  in  pictures ;  and,  further,  such  a 
struggle  may  even  produce  bodily  effects,  as  here  the  lameness  of 
Jacob's  thigh.' 

It  is  probable  that  all  soul-struggles  are  accompanied  by  more  or 
less  severe  bodily  strainings;  and  in  this  connection  we  can  but 
remember  the  strange  sweating  of  our  Lord  in  the  Garden  of  Geth- 
semane.  Such  answering  physical  strain  to  Jacob's  mental  agonies 
will  quite  sufficiently  explain  the  injury  done  to  his  nerve.  The  more 
true  this  scene  is  felt  to  be  to  the  spiritual  nature  of  man,  the  less 
shall  we  need  to  add  to  it  any  miraculous  elements. 

We  are  not  prepared  to  accept  the  view  of  this  scene  which 
represents  it  as  a  subsequently  fashioned  legend,  created  to  give  an 
external  form  to  a  great  and  mysterious  spiritual  struggle ;  but  as  that 
view  needs  to  be  taken  into  thoughtful  consideration,  and  may  be 
treated  with  all  due  reverence  for  Biblical  authority  and  inspiration, 
we  give  the  passage  in  which  Ewald  deals  with  it.  After  describing 
the  peculiar  anxiety  of  Jacob  just  at  this  time,  which  leads  him  to 
consecrate  all  his  powers  in  solemn  and  urgent  supplication  to  his 
God,  he  says  :  '  It  is  a  happy  conception  of  the  later  historian,  to 
introduce  just  at  this  moment  of  Jacob's  most  torturing  suspense, 
when  his  early  treachery  towards  Esau  returned  suddenly  in  fearful 
retribution  upon  his  soul,  his  wrestling  with  the  Angel ;  the  answer. 

as  it  were,  to  the  prayer  immediately  before Much,  it  is  true, 

Jacob  has  already  gained  ;  yet  precisely  that  which  he  formerly  gained 
from  his  brother,  he  holds  as  yet  on  a  merely  human  tenure — the 
right  of  the  cunningest  and  the  strongest,  rather  than  by  the  Divine 
right  of  pure  aspiration  and  spiritual  conquest.  And  yet  man  knows 
no  real  or  unalienable  possession  but  that  which  he  has  won  rather 
from  God  than  from  man,  and  has  thus  made  a  part  of  his  very  life 
and  soul.  The  ordinary  struggles  of  youth,  exciting  rather  than 
decisive,  and  prompted  for  the  most  part  by  mere  passion,  are 


JACOB  AND  THE  ANGELS.  409 

followed  inevitably  by  the  final  and  decisive  struggle  with  the  Gods 
themselves ;  and  he  only  who  fails  not  in  this  can  win  for  himself 
the  Divine  blessing,  which  brings  with  it  true  possession  and  enduring 
prosperity.  So  in  this  critical  night  Jacob  is  met  unawares  by  a 
mighty  wrestler,  and  forced  to  wrestle  with  the  unknown  and  mys- 
terious visitor ;  and  the  wrestling  lasts  without  interruption  the  whole 

night  long Now  is  accomplished  the  true  spiritual  triumph  of 

the  great  hero,  made  a  new  man  through  such  superhuman  conflicts; 
though,  as  the  legend  finely  concludes,  he  receives  a  lameness,  a 
memento  of  the  mortal  combat  he  has  passed  through,  and  a  reminder 
of  past  weakness ;  as  if  the  moral  deformity  of  "  the  crafty "  had 
passed  into  the  body,  and  were  henceforth  to  attach  to  that  only. 
Many  old  materials,  doubtless,  have  been  worked  up  into  this  con- 
ception :  the  popular  belief  in  fearful  nightly  phantoms  vanishing 
with  the  dawn  ;  the  easy  change  of  interpretation  given  to  the  old 
name  Israel  (God's  Wrestler),  as  denoting  one  who  had  striven  with, 
and  therefore,  perhaps,  even  against  God ;  also,  no  doubt,  some 
ancient  notion  of  this  patriarch  as  limping,  connected  with  the  idea 
of  his  craftiness  and  crookedness ;  and  the  localization  of  the  night- 
scene  on  the  river  Jabbok  (as  if  this  name  signified  "  River  of 
Wrestling  "),  and  near  the  place  called  Peniel — all  these  are  made  to 
fit  in  well  with  these  stories,  and  the  whole  episode  is  then  interwoven 
most  harmoniously  with  Jacob's  history.' 

F.  W.  Robertson  well  says  that  '  the  most  honest  and  simple  way 
is  to  confess  that  we  cannot  understand  the  historical  fact ;  but  this 
need  not  prevent  our  receiving  the  underlying  spiritual  truths — the 
truth  of  God's  guidance  and  protection,  the  truth  that  the  struggle 
to  know  and  to  feel  after  God  is  the  conflict  of  our  whole  life.' 


Jonah  in  the  Whale's  Belly. 

JONAH  i.  17  :  '  And  the  Lord  prepared  a  great  fish  to  swallow  up  Jonah,  and 
Jonah  was  in  the  belly  of  the  fish  three  days  and  three  nights.' 

Questions. — Is  the  strictly  historical  character  of  this  narratirt 
well  assured?  And  can  any  explanations  be  given  which  at  all  relieve 
the  extraordinary  character  of  the  miracle  ? 

Answer. — The  presumption  is  certainly  in  favour  of  the  historical 
character  of  the  Book  of  Jonah.  There  are  other  references  to  this 
prophet,  and  our  Lord  alludes  to  him  as  a  real  person,  and  assumes 
the  miraculous  character  of  his  preservation.  It  is,  indeed,  possible 
that  it  may  be  an  imaginative  creation,  in  the  nature  of  a  parable. 


4io      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES.       - 

or  picture-teaching  of  moral  truth ;  but  if  so,  it  stands  alone  in 
Scripture,  and  is  the  only  instance  of  such  a  mode  of  composition. 
The  only  work  that  could  possibly  be  compared  with  it  is  that  of 
Job,  which  may,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as  a  philosophical  discussion, 
for  which  the  machinery  is  found  in  the  details  of  an  ancient 
legend. 

But,  regarded  as  bona  fide  history,  it  may  be  permissible  to  recognise 
that  it  is  given  to  us  in  poetical  form,  and  strict  literalness  of  descrip- 
tion is  not  to  be  looked  for.  If  we  may  suppose  that  Jonah  wrote 
the  accounts  some  time  after  these  events  occurred,  we  can  quite 
understand  that  a  halo  of  poetry  and  mystery  had  gathered  round 
the  scenes,  and  he  could  only  record  them  as  they  were  glorified  in 
his  feeling.  The  absolute  plain  bare  facts  it  would  now  be  impossible 
for  us  to  recover. 

Explanations  of  Jonah's  preservation  have  been  offered  from  two 
distinct  points  of  view.  Strongly  holding  the  miraculous  character  of 
the  transaction,  some  yet  seek  to  relieve  the  strain  of  the  narrative, 
and  to  answer  objectors,  by  showing  that  creatures  are  found  in  the 
Mediterranean  which  are  capable  of  swallowing  and  retaining  a  man 
entire.  But  no  explanations  can  relieve  the  mystery  of  the  retention 
of  life  for  so  long  a  time  under  conditions  so  absolutely  destructive 
to  life. 

Others  seek  for  natural  or  semi-natural  explanations,  and  either 
regard  the  translation  great  fish  as  incorrect,  or  look  upon  the 
description  as  a  poetical  representation  of  some  form  of  remarkable 
rescue. 

Explanations  offered  from  a  strictly  rationalistic  point  of  view  we 
do  not  care  to  give,  as  with  such  we  can  have  little  sympathy.  But 
elucidations  which  are  based  on  the  reverent  study  of  God's  Word, 
and  supported  by  adequate  illustration  and  proof,  deserve  our  very 
careful  consideration.  John  Bellamy,  an  original  and  suggestive 
student  of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  original  language,  thinks  the 
account  of  Jonah  can  be  relieved  of  its  miraculous  features  by  a 
more  exact  apprehension  of  the  Hebrew  terms  that  are  used.  As 
his  ideas  are  not  at  ready  command,  and  are  only  briefly  alluded  to 
in  the  usual  commentaries,  they  may  be  given  somewhat  fully. 

The  words  daag  and  dagah  are  generally  chosen  to  mean  a  great 
fish,  or  some  sea-monster ;  dag  is  also  applied  to  whatever  appertains 
to  the  profession  of  fishing ;  as  to  fishermen  (Is.  xix.  8) — to  things 
that  are  necessary  at  sea,  to  house  the  fish,  such  as  boats,  barges, 
coasters,  and  is  written  in  this  sense  by  the  most  learned  .Rabbis  in 


JONAH  IN  THE   WHALES  BELLY.  411 

their  writings.  The  word  is  not  used  in  this  verse  to  mean  zfish,  but 
to  describe  the  nature  of  the  business  done  in  those  vessels,  which 
was  that  of  fishing;  and  this,  according  to  the  most  learned  Jewish 
Rabbis,  is  the  true  and  literal  meaning  of  the  word.  See  Lingua 
Sacra,  under  dag,  where  the  words  besiroth  daugah  (in  Amos  iv.  2), 
which  are  translated  in  the  English  Version  fish-hooks,  are  truly 
translated  fishing-vessels. 

The  learned  lexicographer  says  :  *  This  in  the  English  translation 
vs.  fishing- hooks.  But,  after  the  most  strict  examination,  I  cannot  find 
any  of  the  commentators  or  lexicographers  of  note  espouse  this 
sense  (see  Jarchi,  Kimchi,  Jonathan,  and  Buxtorf),  who  are  decidedly 
unanimous  that  the  true  meaning  of  the  words  is  fishing-vessels  ;  and 
the  learned  Abarbanal  is  also  of  a  similar  opinion.  See  also  the 
Chaldee,  under  dagah  :  "  and  your  daughters  in  the  fisherman's  ship  " 
(Targ.  Jona).'  And  in  Talm.  Heb.  it  denotes  a  covered  boat  or 
small  sloop.  *  He  that  sells  the  ship,  sells  the  cock-boat'  (Bava 
Bathra,  ch.  v.). 

Secondly,  the  word  lebalangis  rendered  to  swallow;  it  a!:o,  in  various 
places,  means  to  destroy  ;  but  by  a  critical  examination  we  shall  find 
that  it  has  no  such  meaning  in  this  passage,  and  that  an  improper 
word  has  been  chosen  in  the  authorized  translation.  For,  notwith- 
standing it  is  rendered  to  swallow  in  various  places  of  Scripture,  we 
also  find  that  it  is  expressed  differently  according  to  idiom,  and  the 
obvious  meaning  of  the  writer ;  yet  all  variations  of  expression  must 
always  partake  of  the  nature  of  the  root  of  the  word  in  a  nearer  or 
more  remote  sense.  In  Is.  xxviii.  4,  it  is  rendered  *  he  eateth  up.1 
In  Gen.  xli.  7,  24,  'devoured.'  In  Is.  xxv.  7,  'covered.'  In  Num. 
xxiv.  20,  marg.,  'destroy'  But  it  is  possible  to  destroy  without 
eating  or  devouring;  and  it  is  also  possible  to  cover,  conceal,  or  hide 
without  deiwuring,  destroying,  or  swallowing. 

This  word  lebalang  must  necessarily  mean  to  remove  or  banish ; 
it  is  said  in  Ps.  Iv.  9,  *  Destroy,  O  Lord,  and  divide  their  tongues.' 
But  it  is  plain  that  the  result  of  this  destruction  would  be  contrary  to 
reason,  for  if  the  people  were  destroyed,  there  would  be  no  necessity 
to  divide  their  tongues.  The  sacred  writer  here  makes  an  allusion  to 
the  confusion  or  dividing  of  tongues,  or  the  doctrines  of  religious 
sects,  at  Babel,  which  caused  them  to  be  removed.  This  verse  reads, 
*  Remove,  O  Lord,  divide  their  tongues.' 

There  is  another  passage  which  shows  that  the  word  balang,  which 
is  translated  swaUow,  is  to  be  truly  translated  by  remove  or  banish. 
See  Job  x.  8,  '  Yet  thou  hast  destroyed  me ' ;  this  is  as  it  stands  in 


4i2      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  Authorized  Version ;  but  though  Job  was  then  *  removed '  ot 
4  banished '  from  his  tabernacle,  and  his  patriarchal  rule  over  the  land 
of  Edom,  yet  he  was  not  '  destroyed.' 

The  word  megnee  in  Chaldee  means  the  belly  or  inward  part  of 
anything  to  which  it  is  applied.  This  is  the  clear  meaning  in  Talmud 
and  Rabbinical  Hebrew. 

Thus  it  appears  from  the  proper  translation  of  these  passages — the 
rational  series  of  the  narrative — the  customary  usage  of  the  words 
among  the  ancient  people,  and  the  opinion  of  the  above-named 
eminent  Rabbinical  writers,  that  the  Chaldee  word  dagah,  which  has 
been  rendered  a  fish,  was  meant  by  the  sacred  writer  to  signify  a 
covered  boat  or  skiff ;  and  the  word  lebalang,  which  has  -been 
rendered  to  swallow,  literally  means  to  remove  from  place  to  place. 

The  verse  reads  then  agreeably  to  reason,  as  it  is  in  the  original, 
without  supposing  impossibilities,  thus :  *  Now  the  Lord  had  prepared 
a  great  barge  to  remove  Jonah,  and  Jonah  was  in  the  belly  (hold)  of 
the  barge  three  days  and  three  nights.' 

It  appears  that  the  ship  in  which  Jonah  embarked  was  bound  to  the 
port  of  Tarshish,  on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  the 
mariners,  having  put  Jonah  in  the  boat,  attempted  to  pull  him  ashore, 
but  the  sea  being  tempestuous,  they  could  not.  Finding  it  impossible 
to  land  him,  they  then  returned  to  the  ship,  leaving  Jonah  in  the  boat 
at  the  mercy  of  the  waves ;  in  which  perilous  situation  he  was  three 
days  and  three  nights. 

As  representing  those  who  hold  to  the  historical  and  miraculous 
character  of  the  incident,  Dean  Payne  Smith  wisely  says :  '  In  an 
age  when  the  advance  of  science  has  made  us  careful  not  to  accept 
any  facts  but  such  as  are  carefully  verified,  the  preservation  of  Jonah 
alive  in  the  belly  of  a  fish  beneath  the  waters  for  more  than  twenty- 
four  hours  is  sufficiently  startling.  The  real  point,  however,  for  those 
who  believe  that  God  has  deigned  to  authenticate  His  revelation  by 
miracles  is,  whether  there  is  such  a  reason  for  this  miracle  as  justifies 
us  in  receiving  it  as  a  matter  of  faith.' 

All  the  well-known  Bible  writers  labour  to  reduce  the  miraculous 
element  in  the  incident  within  the  narrowest  possible  limitations. 
And  they  succeed  in  showing  that  fishes  large  enough  are  found  in 
the  Mediterranean  ;  that  they  can  swallow  a  man  whole ;  that  it  is 
quite  possible  for  them  to  cast  up  again  whole  what  they  swallowed ; 
and  that,  if  Jonah  retained  life,  the  digestive  processes  of  the  creature 
would  not  affect  him,  for  the  animal  stomach  has  no  power  on  living 
substances.  But  nothing  can  remove  the  miraculous  character  of 


JONAH  IN  THE  WHALES  BELLY.  41$ 

the  fact,  that  life  was  retained  in  circumstances  which  human  experi- 
ence declares  to  be  absolutely  destructive. 

There  are  three  ways  in  which  the  narrative  of  Jonah's  preservation 
may  be  reasonably  dealt  with,  (i)  It  may  be  accepted  as  an  imagi- 
native and  poetical  description  of  some  remarkable  and  gracious 
Providential  preservation.  (2)  Or  it  may  be  regarded  as  an  historical 
account  of  the  casting  loose  of  Jonah  in  the  ship's  boat,  which  is 
obscured  from  view  by  the  mistaken  translation  of  the  Authorized 
Version.  (3)  Or  the  miraculous  character  of  the  incident  may  be 
fully  recognised ;  it  may  be  seen  that  God  used  ordinary  naturat 
agencies  so  far  as  they  would  go  towards  effecting  His  purposes,  and 
controlled  them,  and  supplemented  them  by  direct  miraculous 
agencies.  Either  of  these  views  may  be  taken  by  reverent  men,  who 
jealously  guard  the  truth  of  God's  supreme,  direct,  almighty,  ever- 
present  control  of  the  affairs  of  men,  whose  providences  in  every  age 
are  more  or  less  miracles,  involving  combinations  and  arrangings  that 
are  unusual  and  Divine. 

Prebendary  Huxtable,  in  the  Speaker's  Commentary,  says  :  *  But 
amongst  various  possibilities  which  offer  themselves,  we  are  wholly 
incapable  of  determining  what  the  actual  fact  was,  either  in  respect 
to  the  part  of  the  animal  in  which  the  prophet  was  imprisoned,  or  as. 
to  the  particular  kind  of  marine  creature  which  was  selected  for  the 
purpose.  It  is  enough  that  we  are  able  to  show  that  the  sea  is  pro- 
vided with  a  variety  of  inhabitants  already  known  to  us,  and  there 
may  well  be  others  as  yet  unknown,  from  among  which  the  Almighty, 
without  having  recourse  to  any  new  exercise  of  creative  power,  might 
call  forth  an  individual  fish  for  the  strange  office  here  assigned  to  it.'* 

*  Herodotus  tells  a  story  which  singularly  resembles  that  of  Jonah.  We  give  it 
in  an  abridged  form:  'Arion,  the  Mithymnoean,  who,  in  the  days  of  Periander,. 
King  of  Corinth,  resided  for  some  time  in  that  city,  is  said  to  have  been  carried  to 
Toenarus  on  the  back  of  a  dolphin.  He  went  to  Italy,  and  there  acquired  a  large 
fortune,  apparently  by  the  exercise  of  his  unrivalled  talents  as  a  harpist.  Wishing 
to  return  to  Corinth  with  his  wealth,  he  embarked  at  Tarentum  in  a  Corinthian 
vessel ;  but  as  soon  as  they  were  out  at  sea,  the  sailors  determined  to  murder  hin. 
for  the  sake  of  his  money.  Perceiving  their  intention,  he  offered  them  all  he  had 
to  save  his  life,  but  the  men  were  determined  to  be  rid  of  him.  Reduced  to 
extremity,  he  entreated  that  they  would  at  least  allow  him  to  put  on  his  most 
valuable  dress,  and  also  permit  him  to  give  them  a  specimen  of  his  musical 
powers,  promising  that  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  he  would  destroy  himself. 
They  complied,  retiring  to  the  centre  of  the  ship,  while  he  made  his  arrange- 
ments. Having  dressed  to  his  taste,  Arion  stood  with  his  harp  upon  ihe  side  of 
the  vessel,  where  he  sang  them  a  quick  and  spirited  song,  and  then  leaped  into 
the  sea.  The  ship  pursued  her  course  to  Corinth  ;  but  Arion,  so  the  fable 
relates,  was  taken  up  by  a  dolphin,  and  carried  on  its  back  to  Toenarus.  He 
hastened  away  at  once  to  Corinth,  and  told  his  strange  adventure  to  Periander» 
who  would  not  believe  him  until  he  was  confronted  by  the  sailors  with  whom  h« 
had  sailed,  who,  when  they  saw  him,  confessed  their  crime.' 


4r4      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Talking  Serpents. 

GENESIS  in.  I  :  '  Now  the  serpent  was  more  subtil  than  any  beast  of  the  field 
which  the  Lord  God  had  made.  And  he  said  unto  the  woman,  Yea,  hath  God 
said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  any  tree  of  the  garden  ?' 

Question. — Is  it  necessary  to  find  in  this  the  historical  record  oj 
what  was  said,  miraculously,  by  a  talking  animal;  or  may  we  see  the 
familiar  form  of  poetical  figure  and  legendary  narrative  ? 

Answer. — There  would  be  no  difficulty  whatever  felt  in  recog- 
nising the  poetical  and  figurative  character  of  this  narrative,  if  it 
were  found  in  an  ordinary  ancient  book;  but  we  have  allowed 
ourselves  to  think  that  everything  found  in  the  Scriptures  must  be 
strictly  historical,  because  it  is  inspired.  But  that  view  will  not  bear 
examination  or  criticism.  If  God  is  pleased  to  reveal  Himself  and 
His  will  to  men,  He  is  free  to  use  any  of  those  methods  by  which 
man  can  communicate  his  mind  to  his  fellow-men.  God  is  not 
limited  to  the  use  of  history;  He  may  use  poetry;  He  may  use 
philosophy;  there  is  no  reason  why  He  should  not  use  fable  and 
legend,  which  really  are  nothing  more  than  teaching  by  picture.  No 
teacher  of  morals  by  means  of  fable  or  legend  is  ever  supposed  to 
assert  that  his  creations  are  true  to  historical  fact ;  they  are  what 
they  profess  to  be — imaginative  creations,  more  or  less  probable  in 
their  form,  embodying  and  conveying  to  men's  minds  some  valuable 
truth  or  principle ;  and  the  shape  of  the  creation  is  decided  by 
the  knowledge  and  sentiment  of  the  age  for  which  the  picture  is 
made. 

We  may  distinctly  claim  the  'legendary*  as  one  of  the  forms 
under  which  Divine  revelations  may  have  been  made  in  past  ages  ; 
and  we  may  properly  set  ourselves  upon  the  endeavour  to  understand 
how,  through  these  older  legendary  forms,  important  truths  have 
been  conveyed  and  preserved  for  all  the  generations. 

There  is  only  one  objection  to  the  legendary,  as  a  mode  of  revela- 
tion or  teaching,  which  specially  claims  our  attention.  It  is  said  that 
it  is  unworthy  as  an  instrument  for  God  to  use,  because  it  is  not  true. 
But  that  depends  on  what  we  understand  by  '  the  true.'  A  thing 
may  be  true  to  life — it  may  have  happened ;  though  it  is  not  true  to 
fact,  for  it  never  has  happened.  A  thing  may  be  true  to  imagination 
and  thought,  which  has  never  gained  formal  realization.  There  is, 
however,  a  more  precise  and  complete  answer — the  legendary  is  not 
presented  in  the  Scriptures  as  true,  in  the  sense  of  being  true 
to  fact.  We  accept  it  as  legend ;  the  imaginative  setting  of  moral 


TALKING  SERPENTS.  415 

events,  moral  struggles,  that  cannot  be  stated  in  bald  terms,  that  must 
be  suggested  by  strong  figure,  because  they  cannot  be  precisely  de- 
scribed. '  God  of  old  time  spoke  unto  the  fathers  by  divers  portions 
and  in  divers  manners?  and  we  need  find  no  difficulty  in  recognising 
that  one  of  the  manners  was  the  legendary. 

Following  out  this  line,  it  becomes  plain  that  we  need  not  find  the 
miraculous  in  this  account  of  the  serpent  talking  to  the  woman.  The 
thing  told  us  in  and  by  the  pictured  scene  is  that  a  struggle  went  on 
in  the  mind  of  Eve  between  the  desire  to  indulge  the  senses  and  the 
duty  of  restraining  the  senses  within  the  known  limitations  of  the 
Divine  command.  Paint  that  struggle,  so  that  others  may  see  it  to 
be  just  the  struggle  going  on  in  their  own  natures,  and  the  picrure 
we  paint  cannot  be  a  more  suggestive  and  effective  one  than  that 
which  we  find  given  us  in  connection  with  the  above  passage. 

In  a  very  valuable  series  of  sermons  by  the  Rev.  Johnson 
Barker,  LL.B.,  entitled  Forbidden  Fruit ;  or,  Sermons  on  Temptation^ 
the  views  we  have  indicated  receive  eloquent  expression.  He  says  : 
*  Now,  there  are  three  possible  ways  of  reading  this  story  of  the  Fall. 
It  may  be  read  as  history ;  in  every  sentence  of  it  literally  true.  It 
may  be  read  as  poetry ;  true,  but  not  literally  true  :  true  as  Bunyan's 
"  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  is  true.  Or  it  may  be  read  as  history  blended 
with  poetry ;  the  historic  facts  of  an  actual  occurrence,  and  a  genuine 
experience,  partially  veiled  under  the  thin  transparency  of  imaginative 
form.  It  is  in  this  third  way  that  I  think  it  should  be  read.  The 
man  and  woman  innocent,  yet  frail  and  temptable.  The  Tempter. 
The  Temptation.  The  Fall.  All  this  is  history.  But  the  form  of 
the  temptation  through  a  serpent  and  the  fruit  of  a  forbidden  tree — 
this  surely  is  not  history.  It  is  only  the  poetic  clothing  or  rendering 
of  some  profound  spiritual  and  supernatural  truths  which,  quite  pos- 
sibly, could  not  be  otherwise  conveyed.  And  I  know  of  nothing 
either  in  the  Scriptures  or  out  of  them  to  compel  us  to  read  this  part 
of  the  story  in  any  other  way.  "  The  letter  killeth,  the  spirit  giveth 
life."  To  insist  on  a  close  adhesion  to  the  letter  in  every  word  and 
syllable  of  a  narrative  like  this  would  be  to  kill  the  faith  of  many, 
and  to  make  them  blind  to  the  spiritual  teaching  it  contains.  These 
things  narrated  are  not  literally  true ;  they  are  true  only  symbolically. 
True  in  their  spiritual  meaning  to  every  human  experience  I  believe 
they  are,  but  not  true  as  the  record  of  actual  historical  facts. 

'  If  in  any  other  Oriental  book  we  read  of  a  tree  of  knowledge 
bearing  forbidden  fruit,  and  hiding  in  its  leaves  a  talking,  tempting 
serpent,  we  should  never  think  of  reading  it  as  other  than  a  poetic 


4i6      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

rendering  of  the  truth  it  was  designed  to  teach,  and  that  truth  would 
be  no  less  true  to  us  because  it  pleased  the  writer  to  put  it  in  this 
form.  Why,  then,  should  any  man  insist  that  that  must  be  literal  in 
Scripture  which  he  would  never  for  a  moment  dream  of  thinking 
literal  if  he  met  with  it  elsewhere  ?' 

Attempt  has  been  made  to  get  over  the  difficulty  of  a  reasoning 
and  talking  serpent,  by  the  supposition  that  Satan  was  the  actual 
tempter,  and  the  serpent  only  his  agent  or  instrument.  But  Mr. 
Barker  well  replies  to  this  by  saying  '  it  is  a  theory  which  receives 
no  warrant  from  the  narrative  itself;  it  is  imported  into  it  from 
without,  and  for  it,  so  far  as  I  know,  there  is  no  Scriptural  authority; 
and  when,  in  order  to  explain  a  narrative,  you  begin  to  intrude  ideas 
of  your  own,  which  do  not  necessarily  belong  to  it,  you  have  then 
surely  ceased  to  read  it  literally:' 

Whether  an  animal  spake,  or  a  devil  spake  by  an  animal,  or 
neither  animal  nor  devil  spake,  the  struggle  must  in  reality  have  been 
carried  on  within  Eve's  mind.  We  have  represented  in  the  narrative 
her  thoughts,  which  she  followed  until  they  led  her  astray.  In  her 
we  find  the  struggle  of  the  seen  and  unseen,  of  feeling  and  faith,  of 
dependence  and  independence.  The  knowledge  of  good  and  evil 
implies  just  this — the  fancied  ability  to  go  alone,  apart  from  the 
Divine  guidance.  Ability  to  see  on  all  sides,  and  so  to  watch  and 
guard  efficiently  one's  own  life.  So  her  taking  the  fruit  of  this  tree  is 
figurative  of  just  this,  which  is  the  very  essence  of  sin  for  the  de- 
pendent creature — taking  life  into  one's  own  hands.  This  was  Eve's 
transgression  and  evil.  She  fell  by  yielding  to  the  senses,  Adam  fell 
t>y  yielding  to  the  passions  and  affections. 

Perhaps  what  is  best  said  on  this  difficult  subject  is  said  by  Dean 
Payne  Smith:  '  The  leading  point  of  the  narrative  is  that  the  tempta- 
tion came  upon  man  from  without,  and  through  the  woman.  Such 
questions,  therefore,  as  whether  it  were  a  real  serpent,  or  Satan  under 
a  serpent-like  form,  whether  it  spake  with  a  real  voice,  and  whether 
the  narrative  describes  a  literal  occurrence  or  is  allegorical,  are  better 
left  unanswered.  God  has  given  us  the  account  of  man's  temptation 
and  fall,  and  the  entry  of  sin  into  the  world  in  this  actual  foim  ;  and 
the  more  reverent  course  is  to  draw  from  the  narrative  the  lessons 
it  was  evidently  intended  to  teach  us,  and  not  enter  upon  too  curious 
speculations.  We  are  dealing  with  records  of  a  vast  and  hoar 
antiquity,  given  to  man  when  he  was  in  a  state  of  great  simplicity, 
and  with  his  intellect  only  partly  developed,  and  we  cannot  expect 
to  find  them  as  easy  to  understand  as  the  pages  of  modern  history.' 


PROPOSED  IDENTIFICATION  OF  THE  MANNA.  417 
Proposed  Identification  of  the  Manna. 

EXODUS  xvi.  4,  15:  'Then  said  the  Lord  unto  Moses,  Behold,  I  will  rain 
bread  from  heaven  for  you  ;  and  the  people  shall  go  out  and  gather  a  day's 
jjortion  every  day,  that  I  may  prove  them,  whether  they  will  walk  in  My  law  or 
no.'  '  And  when  the  children  of  Israel  saw  it,  they  said  one  to  another,  What 
is  it  ?  for  they  wist  not  what  it  was.  And  Moses  said  unto  them,  It  is  the  bread 
which  the  Lord  hath  given  you  to  eat '  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — Efforts  have  been  made  to  prove  that  the  substance 
known  as  manna  is  an  ordinary  product  of  desert  districts,  and  that 
consequently  the  miraculous  character  of  this  daily  provision  for  the 
Israelites  cannot  be  maintained  ;  but  it  would  still  seem  that  if  the 
substance  itself  was  not  in  its  nature  miraculous,  its  mode  of  coming  its 
continuance,  and  its  Sabbatic  conditions  certainly  were. 

Explanation. — This  subject  is  so  important  for  its  own  sake, 
and  as  a  specimen  of  a  large  character  of  miracles,  that  it  may 
properly  receive  careful  and  elaborate  treatment.  We  need  to 
understand  clearly  that  the  miraculous  element  in  any  event  or 
incident  may  be  simply  the  element  of  time,  or  of  quantity,  or  of 
mode.  That  lesson  is  taught  us  in  our  Lord's  miracle  of  multiplying 
the  loaves.  The  increase  was  bread,  even  as  the  original  loaves  were 
bread.  It  was  not  a  miracle  of  making  some  new  substance  ;  it  was 
a  miracle  of  time  and  of  quantity.  So,  if  it  can  be  shown  that 
manna  is  a  familiar  natural  product,  we  are  still  left  free  to  recognise 
Divine  intervention  in  the  times  of  its  coining  and  not  coming,  its  quan- 
tity, and  its  use  in  teaching  the  spirit  of  trustful  dependence  on  God. 

One  preliminary  remark  should  be  made.  There  is  no  good 
reason  for  the  assumption  so  often  made,  that  the  manna  constituted 
the  entire  food  of  the  Israelites  during  their  forty  years'  training.  A 
little  consideration  will  serve  to  assure  us  that  it  simply  took  the 
place  relative  to  other  food  which  is  usually  taken  by  bread.  The 
Israelites  had  the  milk  and  flesh  of  their  cattle,  such  herbs  as  would 
quickly  grow  in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  temporary  settlements, 
and  certain  natural  products  of  the  desert  which  are  known  to  form 
an  important  part  of  the  food  of  the  Bedouins. 

It  will  be  well  to  describe  the  various  natural  substances  which 
have  been  proposed  as  identical  with  the  manna,  and  the  fact  that 
there  are  several  indicates  how  much  uncertainty  attaches  to  the 
matter.  The  Scriptural  description  is  not  precise  enough  to  admit  of 
any  accurate  comparisons. 

Duns  tells  us  of  two  plants  which  have  been  named  as  the  source 
of  the  manna.  One  of  these,  the  Alhagi,  or  camel's  thorn  (Manna 
Hebraica],  abounds  in  the  Sinaitic  desert,  of  which  it  is  a  native, 

27 


4i8      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

It  is  also  common  in  the  Egyptian  desert.  In  summer  the  so-called 
manna  exudes  in  small  drops  from  its  leaves,  and  falls  to  the  ground. 
The  other  is  the  tamarisk  or  tarfa  tree  (Tamarix  galtica^  var.  man- 
nifera),  a  native  of  the  Eastern  deserts.  The  exudation  is  caused  by 
the  puncture  of  an  insect  (Coccus  maniparus).  The  puncture  is  made 
in  the  tender  branches  and  twigs,  and  from  this  the  saccharine 
matter  known  as  manna  flows  at  irregular  periods.  Sometimes  over 
a  wide  area  no  exudation  takes  place  for  a  period  of  four  or  five 
years.  This  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  manna  of  commerce, 
a  substance  yielded  by  one  of  the  Oleaceae — the  Ornus,  or  manna- 
ash,  which  contains  the  principle  known  to  chemists  as  mannite.  The 
exudation  of  the  tamarisk  is  sugar ;  it  does  not  contain  mannite.  It 
is  found  in  shining  drops  on  the  twigs  and  branches.  What  falls 
upon  the  sand  is  said  not  to  be  gathered.  It  has  the  appearance  of 
a  gum,  is  of  a  sweetish  taste,  and  melts  when  exposed  to  the  sun  or 
the  fire.  The  Arabs  consider  it  a  great  delicacy,  and  the  pilgrims 
prize  it  highly.  A  very  small  quantity — and  that  only  at  a  particular 
time  of  the  year,  which  is  not  the  time  when  the  manna  first  fell — 
is  now  afforded  by  all  the  trees  of  the  Sinai  peninsula ;  and  Kitto 
adds,  '  It  would  be  safe  to  say  that  if  all  the  trees  of  this  kind,  then 
or  now  growing  in  the  world,  had  been  assembled  in  this  part  of 
Arabia  Petrsea,  and  had  covered  it  wholly,  they  would  not  have 
yielded  a  tithe  of  the  quantity  of  gum  required  for  the  subsistence  of 
so  vast  a  multitude.'  The  whole  quantity  now  produced  does  not 
exceed  600  or  700  pounds. 

Canon  Rawlinson  gives  a  further  description  of  this  tamarisk- 
manna  :  '  It  is  comparatively  a  dry  substance,  is  readily  shaken  from 
the  leaves,  and  consists  of  small  yellowish-white  grains,  which  are 
hard,  and  have  been  compared  to  coriander-seed  by  moderns.  The 
name  "  manna  "  attaches  in  the  East  to  this  substance,  which  is  em- 
ployed both  as  a  condiment  and  as  a  laxative.  The  special  points 
in  which  it  differs  from  the  manna  of  Scripture  are  :  its  confinement 
to  certain  trees  or  bushes;  its  comparative  permanency,  for  it 
"accumulates  on  the  leaves";  and  its  unfitness  for  food.'  It  is  also 
found  only  in  the  months  of  July  and  August,  and  not  during  the 
whole  year. 

Rawlinson  also  tells  of  a  substance  known  as  'air-honey.'  A 
deposit  from  the  air,  which  falls  indifferently  on  trees,  stones,  grass, 
etc.,  and  is  generally  thick  and  sticky  like  honey,  but  under  certain 
circumstances  is  *  concreted  into  small  granular  masses.'  It  has  been 
described  by  Aristotle,  Pliny,  Avicenna,  Shaw,  Forskal,  and  others. 
It  is  collected  by  the  Arabs,  and  eaten  with  their  unleavened  cakes 


PROPOSED  IDENTIFICATION  OF  THE  MANNA.  419 

as  a  condiment.  It  so  far  resembles  the  manna  that  it  comes  with 
the  dew,  is  spread  upon  the  ground  generally,  and  melts  when  the 
sun's  rays  attain  a  certain  power.  But  it  is  never  found  in  large 
quantities  ;  it  does  not  fall  for  more  than  two  months  in  the  year ; 
and  it  is  wholly  unfit  to  serve  as  man's  principal  food,  being  more  like 
honey  than  anything  else.  Probably  this  *  air-manna '  is  a  fanciful 
creation,  and  the  substance  so  named  is  really  one  of  the  tree 
exudations. 

Dr.  C.  Geikie^  quoting  from  Ritter,  makes  quite  a  fresh  addition 
to  the  claimants  for  identification  with  the  manna.  Hugh  Macmillan 
also  mentions  this  substance  in  his  Footnotes  from  the  Page  of 
Nature  : 

'  There  is  an  edible  lichen  which  sometimes  falls  in  showers  several 
inches  deep,  the  wind  having  blown  it  from  the  spots  where  it  grew, 
and  carried  it  onwards.  In  1824,  and  in  1828,  it  fell  in  Persia  and 
Asiatic  Turkey  in  great  quantities.  In  1829,  during  the  war  between 
Persia  and  Russia,  there  was  a  great  famine  at  Oroomiah,  south-west 
of  the  Caspian  Sea.  One  day,  during  a  violent  wind,  the  surface  of 
the  country  was  covered  with  what  the  people  called  "  bread  from 
heaven,"  which  fell  in  thick  showers.  Sheep  fed  on  it  greedily,  and 
the  people,  who  had  never  seen  it  before,  induced  by  this,  gathered 
it,  and  having  reduced  it  to  flour,  made  bread  of  it,  which  they  found 
palatable  and  nourishing.  In  some  places  it  lay  on  the  ground  five 
or  six  inches  deep.  In  the  spring  of  1841  an  amazing  quantity  of 
this  substance  fell  in  the  same  region,  covering  the  ground  here  and 
there  to  the  depth  of  from  three  to  four  inches.  Many  of  the  particles 
were  as  large  as  hailstones.  It  was  grey  and  sweet  to  the  taste,  and 
made  excellent  bread.  In  1846  a  great  manna  rain,  which  occurred 
at  Jenischehr  during  a  famine,  attracted  great  notice.  It  lasted 
several  days,  and  pieces  as  large  as  a  hazel-nut  fell  in  quantities. 
When  ground  and  baked  it  made  as  good  bread,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  people,  as  that  from  grain.  In  1846  another  rain  of  manna 
occurred  in  the  government  of  Wilna,  and  formed  a  layer  upon  the 
ground  three  or  four  inches  deep.  It  was  of  greyish-white  colour, 
rather  hard,  irregular  in  form,  without  smell,  and  insipid.  Pallas, 
the  Russian  naturalist,  observed  it  on  the  arid  mountains  and  lime- 
stone tracts  of  the  Great  Desert  of  Tartary.  In  1828  Parroth  brought 
some  from  Mount  Ararat,  and  it  proved  to  be  a  lichen  known  as 
Parmelia  esculenta,  which  grows  on  chalky  and  stony  soil,  like  that 
of  the  Kirghese  Steppes  of  Central  Asia.  Eversmann  described 
several  kinds  of  it,  last  century,  as  found  east  of  the  Caspian,  and 
widely  spread  over  Persia  and  Middle  Asia.  It  is  round,  and  at 

27—2 


420      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

times  as  large  as  a  walnut,  varying  from  that  to  the  size  of  a  pin's 
head,  and  does  not  fix  itself  in  the  soil  in  which  it  grows,  but  lies 
free  and  loose,  drinking  in  nourishment  from  the  surface,  and  easily 
carried  off  by  the  wind,  which  sweeps  it  away  in  vast  quantities  in 
the  storms  of  spring,  and  thus  causes  the  "  manna  rains  "  in  the 
districts  over  which  the  wind  travels.' 

Now,  it  may  freely  be  granted  that  each  of  these  substances  bears 
resemblance,  in  some  points,  to  the  Bible  manna ;  but  it  must  also 
be  admitted  that  none  of  them  satisfy  all  the  requirements  of  the 
Bible  description.  And  if  we  willingly  recognise  that  *  it  pleased  the 
Creator  to  proceed  on  the  lines  of  nature,  so  to  speak,  and  to  assimi- 
late His  new  to  certain  of  His  old  creations' ;  if  we  admit  that  '  God 
fed  His  people  not  with  the  food  which  belonged  to  other  regions, 
but  with  such  as  appertained  to  the  district ' ;  still  the  fact  remains 
that  the  miraculous  stamp  lies  on  the  timeliness,  quantity,  continuance, 
and  Sabbatic  limitations  of  the  bestowment.  These  can  have  no 
possible  explanation  save  that  of  direct  and  extraordinary  Divine 
intervention,  arrangement,  and  provision,  which  may  properly  be  ex- 
pressed by  the  term  *  miracle ' ;  no  less  miracle  because,  being 
continued  for  some  forty  long  years,  it  passed  into  the  'providential/ 

The  Natural  Agencies  in  the  Destruction  of  Sodorru 

GENESIS  xix.  24 :  '  Then  the  Lord  rained  upon  Sodom  and  upon  Gomorrah 
brimstone  and  fire  from  the  Lord  out  of  heaven. ' 

Question. — Does  the  destruction  of  Sodom  essentially  differ  front 
the  destruction  of  cities  and  districts  by  volcano,  earthquake,  or  tornado, 
which  we  only  regard  as  extraordinary  natural  calamities  ? 

Answer. — The  only  difference  is  that,  in  so  many  cases  of  over- 
whelming calamity,  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  Divine  intention, 
no  such  warning  as  makes  the  calamity  a  precise  Divine  education 
for  us ;  but  in  this  case  of  Sodom  the  Divine  intention  was  revealed 
to  some  persons,  so  that  the  moral  design  in  sending  the  calamity 
should,  by  them  at  least,  be  properly  understood.  And  so,  for  the 
whole  world,  the  case  of  Sodom  became  a  specimen  case,  from  which 
man  might  learn  the  direct  relation  which  God  bears  to  all  pro- 
vidential calamities,  and  the  moral  missions  which  He  makes  all 
such  disasters  to  execute. 

If  by  miracle  we  understand  *  direct  Divine  intervention,'  then 
the  destruction  of  Sodom  was  a  miracle.  If  we  can  see  that  direct 
Divine  intervention  is  the  regular  and  constant  method  of  God's 
dealing  with  our  world,  then  the  supernatural  becomes  the  natural ; 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  SODOM.  421 

and  we  can  understand  that  the  natural  becomes  the  handmaid  for 
carrying  out  God's  moral  and  educational  purposes  concerning  the 
race  which  He  has  set  in  His  world. 

Scripture  distinctly  attributes  the  destruction  to  certain  natural 
forces.  Two  are  named,  *  brimstone  and  fire,'  but  these  may  be  only 
one.  Fire  from  heaven  leaves  a  smell  of  brimstone  ;  and  it  would  be 
quite  in  accordance  with  Eastern  idiom  to  translate  this  '  brimstony 
fire,'  by  which  we  should  understand  ordinary  but  severe  lightning. 
What  was  peculiar  in  the  case  attaches  to  the  character  of  the  soil, 
which  was  lighted  up  by  the  heavenly  fire.  Possibly  the  best  illus- 
tration is  found  in  the  setting  light  to  a  coal  mine  which  is  full  of 
inflammable  material. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  of  the  extraordinary  character  of  the 
soil  in  this  district  of  Sodom.  The  most  recent  and  most  interesting 
is  furnished  by  Tristram,  who,  writing  of  the  range  of  salt  hills  on 
the  south-western  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea,  known  as  the  Ridge  of 
Sodom,  says  of  a  valley  he  discovered  at  the  northern  end  of  this 
ridge  :  '  The  sides  of  the  valley  are  cliffs  of  limestone,  showing  here 
and  there  on  their  surface  traces  of  post-tertiary  marl.  But  since 
the  marl  has  been  washed  out  there  has  been  a  second  filling  in  of 
an  extraordinary  character,  which  is  only  now  in  course  of  denuda- 
tion. There  are  exposed  on  the  sides  of  the  wady  large  masses  of 
bitumen  mingled  with  gravel.  These  overlie  a  thick  stratum  of 
sulphur,  which  again  overlies  a  thick  stratum  of  sand,  so  strongly 
impregnated  with  sulphur  that  it  yields  powerful  fumes  on  being 
sprinkled  over  a  hot  coal.  The  layer  of  sulphurous  sand  is  generally 
evenly  distributed  on  the  old  limestone  base,  the  sulphur  evenly 
above  it,  and  the  bitumen  in  variable  masses.  In  every  way  it  differs 
from  the  ordinary  mode  of  deposit  of  these  substances  as  we  have 
seen  them  elsewhere.  Again,  the  bitumen,  unlike  that  which  we 
pick  up  on  the  sea-shore,  is  strongly  impregnated  with  sulphur,  and 
yields  an  overpowering  sulphurous  odour.  Above  all,  it  is  calcined, 
and  bears  the  marks  of  having  been  subjected  to  extreme  heat.1 

The  vale  of  Siddim,  we  are  told,  was  full  of  bitumen  pits.  Bitu- 
men is  inflammable,  and  when  ignited  by  the  fiery  shower,  the 
pits  and  the  whole  plain  which  was  filled  with  them  would  burn 
fiercely. 

Tristram's  explanation,  based  upon  his  careful  observations,  is  as 
follows :  *  So  far  as  I  can  understand  this  deposit,  if  there  be  any 
physical  evidence  left  of  the  catastrophe  which  destroyed  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  we  have  it  here.  The  whole  appearance  points  to  a 
shower  of  hot  sulphur  and  an  eruption  of  bitumen  upon  it,  which 


422      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

would  naturally  be  calcined  and  impregnated  by  its  fumes  ;  and  this 
at  a  geological  period  quite  subsequent  to  all  the  diluvial  and  alluvial 
action,  of  which  we  have  such  abundant  evidence.  The  catastrophe 
must  have  been  since  the  formation  of  the  wady,  since  the  deposition 
of  the  marl,  and  while  the  water  was  at  its  present  level ;  therefore, 
probably,  during  the  historic  period.  Everything  leads  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  agency  of  fire  was  at  work,  though  not  the  overflow- 
ing of  an  ordinary  volcano.  The  materials  were  at  hand,  at  which- 
ever end  of  the  lake  we  place  the  doomed  cities,  and  may  probably 
have  been  accumulated  then  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  at  present. 
The  kindling  of  such  a  mass  of  combustible  material  either  by  light- 
ning from  heaven  or  by  other  electrical  agency,  combined  with  an 
earthquake  ejecting  the  bitumen  or  sulphur  from  the  lake,  would 
soon  spread  devastation  over  the  plain,  so  that  the  smoke  of  the 
country  would  go  up  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace.  There  is  no 
authority  whatever  in  the  Biblical  record  for  the  popular  notion  that 
the  site  of  the  cities  has  been  submerged.  The  simple  and  natural 
explanation  seems  to  be  this :  that,  during  some  earthquake,  or  with- 
out its  direct  agency,  showers  of  sulphur  and  probably  bitumen, 
ejected  from  the  lake  or  thrown  up  from  its  shores,  and  ignited 
perhaps  by  the  lightning  which  would  accompany  such  phenomena, 
fell  upon  the  cities  and  destroyed  them.' 

This  case  affords  an  effective  illustration  of  the  changed  estimate 
of  so-called  miraculous  events  in  different  ages.  In  its  time  this 
destruction  of  Sodom  was  thought  of  as  a  miracle;  by  the  Jews  it 
would  be  called  a  miracle ;  but  we  can  trace  the  operation  of  natural 
forces,  and  so  we  do  not  call  it  a  miracle  ;  yet  we  see,  quite  as 
clearly  and  impressively  as  ever  our  fathers  did,  that  it  was  a  Divine 
ruling  and  overruling,  in  the  spheres  of  nature,  for  effecting  the  Divine 
purpose  in  the  judgment  of  one  race  for  its  iniquity,  and  the  moral 
education  of  all  races.  '  Seen  by  its  light,  events  of  history,  for 
which  sufficient  secondary  causes  may  be  discovered,  are  nevertheless 
shown  to  be  direct  manifestations  of  the  Divine  justice,  and  to  have 
moral  causes  as  their  real  basis.  We  lose  the  benefit  of  the  teaching 
of  the  Bible  if  we  suppose  that  the  events  recorded  there  were 
different  in  kind  from  those  which  take  place  now.  A  certain  limited 
number  of  events  were  so ;  but  of  most  it  is  simply  the  curtain  that 
is  drawn  back,  and  we  see  God's  presence  no  longer  veiled  as  with 
us,  but  openly  revealed.' — Dean  Payne  Smith. 


SUN  AND  MOON  STANDING  STILL.  423 

Sun  and  Moon  standing  still. 

JOSHUA  x.  13  :  '  And  the  sun  stood  still  and  the  moon  stayed,  until  the  people 
had  avenged  themselves  upon  their  enemies.  Is  not  this  written  in  the  book  of 
Jasher  ?  So  the  sun  stood  still  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  and  hasted  not  to  go  down 
about  a  whole  day.' 

Difficulty. — If  this  is  a  strictly  historical  statement \  the  miracle 
described  seems  to  have  been  much  more  extraordinary  than  any  neces- 
sities of  the  case  could  have  demanded.  If  the  description  be  poetical 
in  form,  it  may  be  possible  to  discover  the  precise  circumstances  which 
thus  gain  so  intense  an  Eastern  colouring. 

Explanation. — It  has  not  been  duly  observed  that  the  report  is 
given  by  the  writer  as  one  of  which  he  had  no  personal  knowledge  ; 
and,  as  if  he  felt  the  extraordinary  character  of  what  he  narrated,  he 
does  the  unusual  thing  of  giving  his  authority  for  his  statement ;  and 
this  authority  we  find  to  have  been  a  book  of  historical  poems,  in 
which  we  might  reasonably  expect  to  find  extravagant  Eastern 
metaphors. 

Very  little  information  can  be  obtained  concerning  this  book  of 
Jasher.  Ewald  thinks  it  illustrated  by  'historical  songs,  how  an 
upright  man  in  Israel,  a  Joshua  or  a  Jonathan,  should  live — what 
glorious  victories  he  could  achieve ;  what  glory  he  would  gain.'  It 
was  rather  a  book  of  heroic  poems  than  a  book  of  Psalms.  Bishop 
Lowth  imagined  that  it  was  a  collection  of  national  songs,  and 
named  from  the  first  words  of  it  az  yashir,  'then  sang.' 

The  point  of  importance  is,  that  this  extract  from  the  Book  of 
Yashir  should  be  compared  with  such  poems  as  Moses'  Song,  the 
Song  of  Deborah,  and  the  Song  of  the  Bow,  all  of  which  we  may 
assume  were  included  in  the  book.  It  would  perhaps  be  helpful  to 
compare  the  extract  with  some  that  might  be  taken  from  the  poems 
of  Homer,  in  whose  writings  extravagant  description  abounds,  but 
is  not  usually  misunderstood,  as  if  it  represented  historical  fact 
All  poets'  facts  are  facts  idealized  and  glorified. 

Almost  universally  it  is  now  recognised  that  the  description  was 
given  when  it  was  supposed  that  the  sun  went  round  the  earth, 
which  it  does  not,  it  only  appears  to  do.  And  it  has  arrested 
attention  that  if  the  sun  were  retained  there  could  be  no  work  for 
the  moon  also  to  do  at  the  same  time.  If  all  that  is  meant  is  that 
there  was  an  unusual  extension  of  after-glow,  or  a  dispelling  of  a 
storm  cloud  from  one  quarter  of  the  heavens,  then  the  aid  of  the 
moonlight  may  have  been  useful. 

Earnest  studies  of  this  subject  have  been  made  by  those  who 


424      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

cherish  the  utmost  reverence  for  God's  Word,  and  hold  firmly  the 
truth  of  Divine  and  miraculous  intervention  in  human  affairs,  for 
high  moral  purposes ;  and  we  propose  to  give  some  summaries  of 
their  explanations  as  likely  to  be  at  once  more  interesting  and  more 
satisfying  than  any  restatement  of  the  modern  case  that  we  might 
ourselves  make. 

In  a  work  on  Bible  Difficulties  by  a  Roman  Catholic  writer, 
which  came  into  our  hands  some  years  ago,  we  found  the  following 
passage :  *  The  sun  was  over  Gibeon,  or  in  the  east — the  moon  in 
the  Valley  of  Ajalon,  or  in  the  west  So  that  at  the  time  of  Joshua's 
prayer  to  Jehovah — not  command  to  the  sun — he  had  a  long  day 
before  him,  and  therefore  no  present  fear  of  failing  light.  The 
simple  facts  of  the  case  were  these.  The  Israelitish  army  made  a 
forced  march  from  Gilgal  to  Gibeon  in  the  night,  hoping  to  arrive 
before  daylight,  so  as  to  attack  the  investing  Amorites  suddenly  in 
the  darkness,  and  defeat  them  more  easily  in  the  panic  that  would 
ensue.  This  plan  was  in  danger  of  failing,  for  as  the  advancing 
force  approached  Gibeon  the  day  began  to  break.  Then  it  was 
that  Joshua  appealed  to  God  for  aid.  But  the  aid  he  sought  was 
that  of  prolonged  darkness ;  hence  his  prayer  was  that  "  the  sun 
might  be  obscured  and  the  moon  also,"  by  the  great  storm  which  so 
powerfully  aided  the  Israelitish  attack.' 

We  can  but  admire  the  boldness  and  simplicity  of  this  explanation, 
while  we  admit  that  it  has  not  received  general  acceptance.  The 
more  elaborate  treatment  may  be  represented  by  the  careful  work  of 
Dr.  S.  Cox,  which  may  be  regarded  as  giving  the  view  of  the  passage 
which  is  now  largely  accepted. 

On  the  Gibeonites  appealing  for  help,  nothing  loth,  Joshua 
seized  the  opportunity  of  encountering  the  hostile  kings.  As  the 
need  was  sharp  and  pressing,  he  made  a  forced  march,  traversing  in 
a  single  night  the  space  between  Gilgal  and  Gibeon,  a  distance 
which  on  a  previous  occasion  it  had  taken  him  three  days  to  cover — 
so  bent  was  he  on  striking  a  sudden  blow  which  might  break  the 
hostile  confederation  to  pieces  before  it  gathered  its  full  strength 
The  five  kings  of  the  Amorites  and  their  combined  host,  taken  at 
unawares,  were  unable  to  stand  the  onset  of  Joshua's  '  mighty  men 
of  valour.'  They  broke,  and  fled  up  the  western  pass,  '  the  way  that 
goeth  up  to  Beth-horon.'  Up  the  weary  length  of  this  steep  difficult 
pass  the  flying  host  had  to  toil,  chased  by  their  eager  foes,  and 
suffering  a  great  slaughter,  till  they  reached  the  hamlet  of  Upper 
Beth-horon  at  the  crown  of  the  pass. 

When  the  pursuing  army  of  Israel  reached  this  point,  the  summit 


SUN  AND  MOON  STANDING  STILL.  425 

of  the  pass,  a  broad  and  noble  scene  would  open  before  them, 
extending  even  to  the  blue  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  But, 
doubtless,  they  would  cast  but  a  rapid  glance  on  the  distant  scene. 
That  which  would  most  attract  their  eyes  would  be  the  rough  steep 
road,  heavy  with  loose  stones  and  shale,  broken  at  intervals  with 
sharp  upturned  edges,  and  again  by  smooth  slippery  sheets  of  rock, 
which  led  down  to  Lower  Beth-horon,  and  over  which  their  dis- 
comfited enemies  were  flying  in  wilii  disorder,  amid  the  horrors  of  a 
tropical  storm.  For  it  was  as  the  Amorites  turned  the  crest  of  the 
pass,  'in  the  going  down  to  Beth-horon,'  that  they  met  a  fierce 
tempest  driving  up  from  the  sea ;  thunder,  lightning,  and  a  deluge 
of  hail  storming  down  on  their  broken  ranks,  the  Lord  casting  down 
great  stones  upon  them,  '  so  that  they  were  more  that  died  of  the 
hailstones  than  they  whom  the  children  of  Israel  slew  with  the 
sword.' 

It  must  have  been  a  weird  and  marvellous  spectacle  which  burst 
on  the  panting  warriors  of  Israel  as  they  topped  the  pass.  Behind 
them  lay  the  hills  which  hid  Gibeon  from  view,  while  from  high 
above  those  hills  the  sun  shone  hotly  on  their  backs.  Beneath  them 
the  steep  mountain-path  sloped  sharply  into  the  valley,  all  thick  with 
their  scattered  and  disheartened  foes;  while,  before  them,  black 
clouds  of  tempest  rolled  up  from  the  sea,  and  the  faint  crescent 
moon  glimmered  through  a  rift  in  the  clouds  over  the  distant  Valley 
of  Ajalon.  To  Joshua  and  his  captains  the  scene  would  be  as  un- 
welcome as  it  was  strange.  For  here  were  their  foes  utterly  at  their 
mercy,  and,  if  the  daylight  would  but  last,  sure  to  be  well-nigh 
exterminated  by  a  terrible  slaughter.  But  here,  too,  was  the  tempest 
driving  up  the  valley  from  the  sea,  threatening  to  blot  out  the  light 
of  the  sun,  and,  by  bringing  the  day  to  a  premature  close,  to  give 
their  foes  an  opportunity  of  escape. 

At  such  a  conjuncture  as  this,  the  natural  thought  of  Joshua,  his 
wish,  perhaps  his  prayer,  would  be,  '  O  that  the  daylight  would  last, 
that  the  darkening  tempest  might  be  dispersed,  and  that  we  might 
see  our  foes  till  the  victory  be  complete  !'  If  this  was  his  wish,  his 
prayer — and  we  shall  soon  see  that  the  Sacred  Record  implies  no 
more  than  this — his  prayer  would  be  answered  as  the  storm  blew  by, 
and  the  sun  shone  out  through  the  clouds.  In  some  way  it  was 
answered ;  for  the  Israelites  did  chase  the  Amorites  down  the  pass 
and  through  the  valley,  smiting  them  with  a  very  great  slaughter. 

What  the  exact  basis  of  historical  fact  was  which  the  sacred  poet 
quoted  by  Joshua  had  in  view  when  he  sang  of  the  sun  and  the 
moon  as  coming  to  the  help  of  Israel,  we  cannot  determine  with 


426     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

precision.  It  may  be  that,  as  he  stood  on  the  summit  of  the  Beth- 
horon  pass,  and  saw  the  dark  tempest  driving  up  the  valley,  from 
the  sea,  Joshua  prayed  that  the  light  of  day  might  not  be  obscured, 
that  the  tempest  might  be  dispersed;  and  to  this  simple  incident,  if  the 
prayer  were  uttered  and  answered,  the  poet  may  have  given  the 
imaginative  and  hyperbolical  expression  we  find  in  his  verses.  Or 
it  may  be  that  he  only  had  in  view  the  astonishing  greatness  of  the 
victory,  and  meant  to  imply  that  so  vast  an  achievement  demanded 
more  than  the  ordinary  length  of  an  ordinary  day.  Or,  just  as 
Deborah,  when  singing  of  the  stars  that  fought  against  Sisera,  pro- 
bably intended  to  imply  that  all  the  forces  of  Nature  are  arrayed 
against  the  enemies  of  God ;  so  our  poet,  in  singing  of  the  arrest  of 
the  sun  and  the  moon,  may  only  have  intended  to  imply,  that  all 
the  forces  of  Nature  are  for  the  servants  and  friends  of  God,  that  when 
we  do  His  will  the  whole  universe  is  on  our  side. 

Bishop  Wordsworth,  representing  quite  another  school  of  Biblical 
critics,  struggles  very  hard  to  retain  the  miraculous  character  of  the 
events  of  this  day,  but  is  constrained  to  admit  that  the  miracle  was 
local,  and  the  scene  of  it,  as  it  were,  between  the  longitude  of  Gibeon 
on  the  east  and  Ajalon  on  the  west.  '  The  result,  therefore,  at  which 
we  arrive  is  this,  that  by  the  working  of  God,  listening  to  the  prayer 
of  Joshua,  the  light  of  the  sun  was  miraculously  continued  to  Israel, 
in  a  particular  place,  and  the  moon's  light  was  stayed  from  rising, 
while  it  was  night  to  those  who  were  beyond  the  sphere  of  the 
operation  of  the  miracle.'  Wordsworth  notes  that  the  words  trans- 
lated the  sun  stood  still,  are  literally,  the  sun  was  silent,  certainly  a 
striking  and  suggestive  difference. 

Dean  Stanley  gives  some  sentences  of  Kepler  s  in  relation  to  this 
subject :  '  They  will  not  understand  that  the  only  thing  which 
Joshua  prayed  for,  was  that  the  mountains  might  not  intercept  the 
sun  from  him.  Besides,  it  had  been  very  unreasonable  at  that  time 
to  think  of  astronomy,  or  of  the  errors  of  sight ;  for  if  anyone  had 
told  him  that  the  sun  could  not  really  move  on  the  Valley  of  Ajalon, 
but  only  in  relation  to  sense,  would  not  Joshua  have  answered  that 
his  desire  was  that  the  day  might  be  prolonged,  so  it  were  by  any 
means  whatsoever  ?' 

It  will  suffice  to  give  the  somewhat  differing  suggestion  made  by 
Herder,  to  complete  our  summary  of  what  may  fairly  be  called 
reasonable  solutions  of  this  Biblical  difficulty.  He  says  :  *  It  is 
astonishing  that  this  fine  passage  has  been  so  long  misunderstood. 
Joshua  attacked  the  Amorites  in  the  early  morning,  and  the  battle 
continued  till  night ;  that  is,  for  a  long  day  which  seemed  to  protract 


THE  ANGEL-VISITORS  TG  ABRAHAM.          427 

itself  into  night,  to  complete  the  victory.  The  sun  and  moon  were 
witnesses  of  Joshua's  great  deeds,  and  held  their  course  in  the  midst 
of  heaven  till  the  triumph  was  perfect  Who  does  not  recognise  this 
as  poetry,  even  if  it  had  not  been  quoted  from  the  Book  of  Poems 
on  Heroes.  In  the  usual  language  of  the  Hebrews  such  expressions 
were  neither  bold  nor  unusual '  (Heb.  Poesie,  vol.  L,  p.  237). 

The  An  gel- Visitors  to  Abraham. 

GENESIS  xviii.  i,  2  :  'And  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  by  the  oaks  ofMamre, 
as  he  sat  in  the  tent-door  in  the  heat  of  the  day  ;  and  he  lift  up  his  eyes  and 
looked,  and,  lo,  three  men  stood  over  against  him.' 

Difficulty. — Two  things  require  explanation  in  this  incident: 
(i)  The  manifestation  of  God  to  Abraham,  on  this  particular  occasion, 
in  a  human  form ;  and  (2)  the  singular  fact  that  the  manifestation 
was  made  in  three  persons. 

Explanation. — It  is  important  to  recognise  distinctly  what 
is  asserted  in  the  above  passage.  '  The  Lord '  is  said  to  have 
appeared  unto  Abraham  ;  and  then  this  appearance  is  described  as 
being  the  approach  towards  the  tent  of  three  distinguished-looking 
strangers.  We  are  to  find  in  the  coming  of  these  men  the  coming  of 
'  the  Lord,'  that  is,  of  '  Jehovah.' 

It  is  a  singular  complication  of  the  narrative  that,  in  verses  21,  22, 
it  should  be  intimated  that  all  three  men  were  going  towards  Sodom, 
with  the  expressed  intention  of  visiting  it,  and  yet  in  chapter  xix.  i 
we  are  told  that  only  two  persons  arrived  at  Sodom,  and  these  are 
called  'angels/  not  'men.' 

The  explanation  ready  to  hand,  but  suspiciously  easy  to  give  is, 
that  one  of  the  visitors  was  the  Lord  Himself,  and  the  others  were 
attendant  ministers;  that  the  Lord  did  not  Himself  go  down  to 
Sodom,  but  left  His  ministers  to  obtain  the  necessary  information, 
and  execute  His  Divine  judgment.  This  involves  that  the  two 
angels  who  appeared  at  Sodom  are  identified  with  two  out  of  the 
three  men  who  appeared  to  Abraham ;  but  such  an  identification  is 
not  necessary  ;  and  we  prefer  to  think  that  the  manifestation  of  '  the 
Lord '  to  the  Patriarch  took  a  threefold  human  form,  though  it  must 
be  granted  that  this  view  very  seriously  increases  the  difficulty  of  our 
endeavour  to  understand  the  incident. 

The  probable  reason  for  the  appearance  of  Jehovah  in  human 
form  on  this  occasion  is,  that  it  was  necessary  Abraham  should  have 
a  profound  impression  of  that  actual  personal  rule  of  God  over  all 
the  affairs  of  Canaan,  which  was  one  of  the  conditions  of  the 
covenant.  God  rules  the  world,  but  He  does  it  by  agents.  God 


428      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

ruled  Canaan,  but  He  did  it  directly ;  He  did  it  Himself.  Abraham 
must  see  him  as  a  man  ruling  men.  He  was  at  this  time  judging  the 
accused,  and  prepared  to  punish  the  guilty,  and  this,  for  Abraham 
and  for  us,  must  be  brought  out  of  the  realm  of  sentiment,  and  pre- 
sented as  actual,  tangible  fact.  Probably  the  chief  importance  of 
this  manifestation  lies  in  the  aid  it  affords  towards  realizing  the 
objectiveness  of  the  Theocracy. 

The  Jewish  commentators  have  a  curious  account  to  give  of  the 
sending  of  three  angels,  as  they  call  them.  '  No  angel  might  execute 
more  than  one  commission  at  a  time  ;  one  of  the  three  came  to  heal 
Abraham,  the  second  to  bear  the  message  to  Sarah,  and  the  third  to 
destroy  Sodom.' 

The  true  explanation  seems  to  lie  in  the  direction  indicated  by 
Bishop  Wordsworth :  '  In  these  three  men  was  there '  not  a  mys- 
terious shadowing  forth  of  the  Three  Persons  of  the  Undivided 
Trinity  ?  And  those  Three  Persons  being  coequal  are  called  by  the 
same  name,  "men,"  "three  men,"  but  they  could  not  be  called 
angels ;  for  angel  means  sent,  and  the  First  Person  of  the  Trinity  is 
never  said  in  Scripture  to  be  sent.  But  the  Son  is  said  to  be  sent, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  sent.  They  may  be  called  Angels ;  but  the 
Father  not.  Perhaps,  then,  with  reverence  be  it  said,  we  have  a 
vision  of  the  Three  Persons  in  this  chapter ;  and  of  the  Second  and 
Third  Persons  in  the  following.' 

This  may  seem  an  overstraining  of  the  meaning,  and  we  cannot 
accept  the  idea  of  a  separation  of  the  Divine  Unity  thus  suggested. 
It  is  better  to  think  of  the  two  angels  who  came  to  Sodom  as  simple 
ministrants  and  executors  of  the  Divine  will ;  and  it  is  better  to  say 
simply,  with  the  early  Christian  fathers,  that  the  three  men  symbo- 
lized the  Divine  presence  of  the  Blessed  Trinity  in  Unity.  The 
Hebrew  words  rendered  three  men  signify  a  triad  of  men.  Such 
a  manifestation  became  a  kind  of  picture-teaching  of  the  primary 
truth  concerning  God,  adapted  to  the  apprehension  of  the  Patriarch 
and  those  who  lived  in  his  time.  Lange  says  :  'This  great  manifestation 
of  God,  in  the  life  of  Abraham,  is  the  most  striking  sign  in  the  old 
covenant  of  the  incarnation  of  God.'  The  incarnation,  or  embodi- 
ment of  God,  for  human  apprehension  cannot  be  made  in  one 
person,  or  one  form,  it  requires  three  persons,  or  three  forms,  if  men 
are  to  realize  His  absolute  Being,  His  visibility  to  the  senses,  and 
His  recognition  as  an  indwelling  life.  Men  can  only  think  of  God, 
in  His  relations  to  them,  as  a  three-fold  Being ;  and  it  was  well  that 
this  should  be  so  strikingly  shown  in  symbol  to  the  great  race- 
father. 


SWIFT-GROWING  AND  SWIFT-DYING  GOURD.  429 
The  Swift-growing  and  Swift-dying  Gourd. 

JONAH  iv.  10  :  '  Then  said  the  Lord,  Thou  hast  had  pity  on  the  gourd,  for 
the  which  thou  hast  not  laboured,  neither  madest  it  grow  ;  which  came  up  in  a 
night,  and  perished  in  a  night.' 

Question. — Is  it  necessary  to  recognise  anything  miraculous  in  the 
account  of  the  gourd  as  here  given  ? 

.  Answer. — The  miraculous  feature  in  the  narrative  is  the  timing 
of  the  incidents  to  fit  in  with  the  moral  instruction  of  God's  servant, 
and  not  in  the  incidents  themselves.  The  sudden  growth  was  usual, 
and  the  sudden  decay  was  usual,  if  due  allowance  is  made  for  the 
poetical  form  in  which  the  narrative  is  given  to  us. 

In  considering  this  subject,  the  possibility  that  the  Book  of  Jonah 
is  a  parable,  or  work  of  imagination,  based,  more  or  less,  on  some 
historical  incident,  must  be  duly  estimated.  This  has  been  treated 
in  a  former  paragraph  on  Jonah  i.  17.  So  much  as  this  may  fairly 
be  said  :  the  instruction  of  God's  servant  through  the  circumstances 
of  a  plant  are  suggestive  of  pictorial  teaching  by  fable,  or  imagined 
incident.  But,  on  the  whole,  the  arguments  seem  to  favour  the 
strictly  historical  character  of  the  narrative ;  and  we  need  only  say, 
that  the  actual  facts  were  given  by  Jonah  himself,  after  they  occurred, 
and  when  a  prophetical  and  poetical  'glamour'  had  gathered  about 
them.  We  must  all  have  observed  that  when  we  narrate  actual 
events,  in  which  we  were  personally  concerned,  in  order  to  convey 
through  them  moral  teachings,  we  cannot  help  '  dressing  them  up/ 
so  that  the  bare  facts  get  quite  an  imaginative  clothing.  No  dis- 
honour whatever  is  done  to  the  Divine  Word  by  recognising  that 
this  very  natural  process  may  be  observed  in  the  Bible  narratives, 
which  often  are  '  fact  glorified  by  feeling.' 

Dean  Payne  Smith  is  a  safe  authority  for  adequate  explanations  of 
the  extraordinary  growth  and  decay  of  this  gourd.  He  says  :  '  The 
plant  called  in  Hebrew  Kikanion  is  really  the  *  Palma  ChristiJ  the 
Ricinis  Communis  of  botanists.  St.  Jerome  describes  this  plant  as 
having  a  firm  trunk,  broad  leaves  shaped  like  those  of  the  vine,  and 
as  giving  a  most  dense  shade.  '  It  grows,'  he  adds,  '  with  great 
rapidity,  so  that  the  seed  rises  marvellously  into  a  shrub ;  and  where 
a  few  days  before  you  saw  only  a  small  plant,  you  behold  quite  a 
little  tree.'  Elsewhere  we  learn  that  it  has  a  hollow  stem,  and  rises 
often  to  a  height  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet.  Dr.  Pusey,  who  has 
collected  much  valuable  information  both  about  the  white  shark  and 
the  palma  christi,  quotes  also  an  interesting  account  of  the  manner 
in  which  it  is  sometimes  as  suddenly  destroyed.  'On  warm  days, 


430      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

when  a  small  rain  falls,  black  caterpillars  are  generated  in  great 
numbers  on  this  plant,  which  in  one  night  so  often  and  so  suddenly 
cut  off  its  leaves  that  only  their  bare  ribs  remain.'  He  furthei 
notices  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  text  to  imply  thai  it  was  the  stem 
that  was  gnawed  asunder,  and  that  the  word  '  worm '  might  be  used 
collectively  for  a  multitude  of  caterpillars. 

As  regards  the  minor  point,  that  if  Jonah  had  built  him  a  booth 
(chap.  iv.  5),  he  would  not  have  needed  a  palma  christi  to  shade 
him,  Pusey  further  shows,  that  the  booth  which  Jonah  put  up  was 
such  as  the  Jews  erected  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  ;  and  that  these, 
composed  of  slight  branches,  did  not  (effectually)  exclude  the  sun. 
But  we  can  very  well  imagine  that,  in  so  hot  a  climate,  no  erection 
of  dead  boughs,  or  even  of  planks,  would  give  a  shade  so  refreshing 
as  green  living  foliage.' 

Kitto  says  :  *  We  are  not  bound,  in  the  case  of  the  gourd,  to  find  a 
plant  which,  without  the  special  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  providence, 
should  attain  such  growth  in  a  night  as  to  afford  adequate  shelter  to 
the  prophet's  head.  The  Lord,  however,  is  in  all  His  dispensations 
economical  of  prodigies  ;  and  we  are  to  suppose  that  in  this  instance 
He  did  not  create  a  new  plant  for  the  occasion,  or  choose  one  of 
naturally  slow  growth.  It  is  more  in  the  ordinary  course  of  even 
His  miraculous  providence  to  suppose  that  a  plant  naturally  of  rapid 
growth  was  chosen,  and  that  this  natural  quickness  of  growth  was 
preternaturally  stimulated  for  the  occasion.' 

No  gourd  actually  grows  up  in  a  single  night,  and  the  expression, 
4  which  came  up  in  a  night,'  or  literally,  *  which  was  the  son  of  a 
night,'  must  be  regarded  as  giving  in  strong  poetic  figure  the  fact  of 
swift  growth.  It  is  a  sort  of  poetical  antithesis  to  the  other  ex- 
pression, *  perished  in  a  night.'  The  gourd  is  a  climbing  vine  of 
rapid  growth,  always  trained  to  run  up  trees,  trellis,  and  temporary 
booths,  the  size  of  its  leaves  affording  a  pleasant  shade.  The  fruit, 
though  large,  is  not  heavy,  and  hangs  on  the  vines  swinging  and 
drying  in  the  wind.  It  appears,  however,  that  the  gourd  plant,  in 
consequence  of  its  light  and  pulpy  texture,  is  very  liable  to  be 
destroyed  by  grubs  and  worms,  which  attack  the  root,  and  so  involve 
the  speedy  withering  of  the  plant.  Tristram  prefers  the  identifi- 
cation with  an  ordinary  gourd  to  that  with  the  ricinus. 

'  The  same  God  who  caused  the  gourd  to  grow  in  a  night  could 
make  a  cedar  do  so  likewise ;  but  this  would  be  a  wide  departure 
from  the  general  method  of  miraculous  interposition,  which  is  to 
employ  it  no  further  than  is  necessary  to  secure  the  result  required ' 
(Dr.  Thomson).  Calvin  says :  '  God  approaches  nature  when  He 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  URIM  AND  THUMMIM.    431 

does  anything  beyond  nature  :  this  is  not  indeed  always  the  case  ; 
but  generally  we  find  that  God  so  works  as  that  He  exceeds  the 
measure  of  nature,  and  yet  from  nature  does  not  wholly  depart* 


The  Mystery  of  the  Urim  and  Thummim. 

•  EXODUS  xxviii.  30 :  *  And  thou  shalt  put  in  the  breastplate  of  judgment  the 
Urim  and  the  Thummim  ;  and  they  shall  be  upon  Aaron's  heart,  when  he  goeth 
in  before  the  Lord  :  and  Aaron  shall  bear  the  judgment  of  the  children  of  Israel 
upon  his  heart  before  the  Lord  continually.' 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  that  this  Urim  and  Thummim 
was  the  medium  of  constant  miraculous  communications  from  God ;  and 
how  did  che  informations  or  decisions  furnished  by  it  differ  from  those 
arrived  at  by  the  process  of '  casting  lots '  ? 

Answer. — It  cannot  be  said  that  we  properly  understand  what 
this  '  Urim  and  Thummim '  was.  In  all  accounts  given  us  of  it, 
there  is  evidently  much  guess-work ;  and  the  fact  that  it  was  made  a 
regular  and  orderly  plan  for  obtaining  a  Divine  oracle,  takes  it  out 
of  the  class  of  miracles  proper.  It  became  the  usual  method  of 
Divine  communication  for  certain  matters.  But  the  removal  of  the 
miraculous  feature  in  no  way  involves  any  weakening  of  our  im- 
pression of  the  direct  Divine  action  in  the  responses  given.  In 
this  case  we  may  distinguish  between  the  extraordinary  and  the 
miraculous. 

On  comparison  of  the  various  references  in  Scripture  to  the 
Urim  and  Thummim,  we  gather  that  it  was  some  material  thing, 
separate  from  the  breastplate,  and  separate  from  the  gems  on  the 
breastplate.  Probably  there  were  two  balls  kept  loose  in  the  bag  of 
the  breastplate,  and  if  so,  they  must  have  been  used  somewhat  as 
pebbles  may  be  used  for  casting  lots.  Their  proper  use  seems  to 
have  been  to  gain  knowledge  of  the  Divine  mind  in  the  matter  of 
the  wars  of  Israel,  and  their  responses  amounted  to  a  simple  *  yes ' 
or  'no.'  There  is  no  instance  on  record  of  their  being  consulted 
after  the  time  of  David. 

There  have  been  many  suggestions  made  as  to  the  form  and  material 
of  this  oracle,  and  the  method  in  which  it  was  consulted  by  the  high- 
priest,  but  they  may  be  classified  under  three  heads.  Some  think 
that  the  Divine  will  was  manifested  through  the  Urim  and  Thummin 
by  some  physical  effect  addressed  to  the  eye  or  ear.  Others  think 
that  there  was  some  ordained  symbol  which,  when  the  high-priest 
concentrated  his  sight  and  attention  on  it,  became  a  means  01  calling 
forth  the  prophetic  gift.  And  yet  others  think  that  there  was  some 


432      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

contrivance  for  casting  lots  ;  and  this  certainly  is  the  safest  direction 
in  which  to  seek  for  explanation. 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  sums  up  a  careful  criticism  of  the  various  suggestions 
in  this  way  :  '  The  Urim  and  Thummim  have  been  supposed  to  refer 
to  something  analogous  to  an  ornament  worn  by  the  president  of  the 
high  court  of  justice  in  Egypt,  who  was  necessarily  a  priest — a  small 
figure  composed  of  costly  stones,  which  was  called  Truth — forming, 
perhaps,  an  image  of  the  goddess  Tme,  whose  name  has  been  sup- 
posed by  some  identical  with  "  Thummim,"  though  many  Egyptian 
scholars  reject  this  derivation.  It  would  seem,  however,  as  if  the 
translators  of  the  Greek  Bible  had  been  of  this  opinion,  as 
"Thummim"  is  always  rendered  "Truth"  by  them.  So,  also, 
"  Urim  "  is  thought  traceable  to  the  Egyptian  word  for  "revelation." 
Hence  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  Urim  and  Thummim  may 
have  been  two  small  images — kept  in  the  pocket  of  the  breastplate, 
or  hung  in  front  it — representing  "  revelation  "  and  "  truth,"  which 
in  some  way  gave  oracular  answers  when  consulted.  M.  Lenormant 
has  found  allusions  in  the  Assyrian  tablets  to  a  gem  in  a  royal  or 
priestly  ring,  the  flashes  from  which  were  regarded  as  oracular.  This, 
he  fancies,  may  explain  the  nature  of  the  Urim  and  Thummim. 
That  these  were  in  the  pocket  of  the  high-priest's  breastplate — not 
outside — proves,  he  thinks,  conclusively  that  they  could  not,  as 
Josephus  imagines,  be  any  of  the  gems  in  front  of  that  ornament  ?' 

Philo  says  that  the  Urim  and  Thummim  were  gems  cut  in  the 
form  of  teraphim. 

Ewald  represents  the  bag  connected  with  the  ephod  as  the  least 
comprehensible  article  of  the  high-priest's  adornment.  It  was  a  span 
in  length,  and  in  breadth,  had  four  corners,  and,  as  we  distinctly 
know,  was  double.  If,  however,  this  last  expression  still  seems 
ambiguous,  it  is  fully  explained  by  an  inner  side,  i.e.,  the  side  of  the 
article  turned  towards  the  breast,  being  spoken  of  (Exod.  xxviii.  26, 
comp.  16;  xxxix.  19,  comp.  9).  What  distance  apart  from  one 
another  the  two  sides  of  the  bag  were,  we  do  not  know ;  but  it  was 
plainly  no  more  than  was  necessary  to  grasp  with  the  hand  and  to 
draw  out  what  was  preserved  within.  For  we  know  further  that  there 
was  something  placed  inside  the  article.  It  was  the  receptacle  of  the 
Urim  and  Thummim.  Now,  these  objects,  which  as  something  placed 
inside  must  have  been  quite  capable  of  being  grasped  in  the  hand, 
are  not  described  either  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament,  or  yet  in 
the  Book  of  Origins  at  this  very  place.  It  is  also  manifest  from  many 
clear  tokens  that  the  words  Urim  and  Thummim  of  themselves 
denote  nothing  save  the  oracle,  and  declare  nothing  about  its  kind 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  URIM  AND  THUMMIM.  433 

or  the  instruments  by  which  it  was  to  be  obtained.'  Probably  two 
pebbles  of  different  colours  were  shaken  as  lots  in  the  dag,  and  one 
of  them  was  drawn  out. 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  concludes  a  careful  note  thus :  *  No 
attempted  explanation  seems  to  be  more  in  accordance  with  such 
'analogy  as  the  history  of  the  Israelites  affords,  or  more  free  from 
objection,  than  that  the  Urim  and  the  Thummim  were  some  means 
of  casting  lots.  That  the  Lord  should  have  made  His  will  known  to 
His  people  by  such  means  may  indeed  run  counter  to  our  own 
habits  of  thought.  But  we  know  that  appeals  to  lots  were  made 
under  Divine  authority  by  the  chosen  people  on  the  most  solemn 
occasions.  It  must  have  been  a  truth  commonly  recognised  by 
the  people,  that  though  "  the  lot  was  cast  into  the  lap,  the  whole 
disposing  thereof  was  of  the  Lord  "  (Prov.  xvi.  33).' 

The  Fate  of  Lot's  Wife. 

GENESIS  xix.  26  :  '  But  his  wife  looked  back  from  behind  him,  and  she  became 
a  pillar  of  salt.' 

Question. — Is  it  possible  to  gain  any  satisfactory  ideas  concerning 
the  miraculous  judgment  which  so  suddenly  overwhelmed  this  woman  1 

Answer. — As  in  so  many  cases,  we  must  carefully  eliminate  from 
this  narrative  the  additions  which  men  have  made  to  it,  and  the 
inferences  which  they  have  drawn  from  it.  We  have  argued  as  if 
the  Bible  statement  were,  'And  she  became  at  once  a  pillar  of  salt' 
It  would  be  much  more  simple  and  natural  to  read  it  thus:  'And 
she  ultimately  became  a  pillar  of  salt.'  What  we  may  suppose  to 
have  happened  was  this  :  her  protection  from  the  raging  elements 
was  withdrawn  on  account  of,  and  as  a  judgment  on,  her  disobedience 
and  wilfulness.  She  was  smitten  and  killed,  and  her  body  became 
encrusted  with  the  salt  deposits  of  the  district. 

In  connection  with  those  salt  deposits,  the  fact  may  be  noticed 
that,  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  Gebel  Usdum,  a  huge 
mountain  of  rock-salt,  capped  by  gypsum  and  marl,  about  seven 
miles  long,  and  from  one  and  a  half  to  three  miles  broad,  hollowed 
out  by  rains  and  springs,  sends  a  constant  addition  of  brine  into  the 
lake ;  and  this,  with  that  which  enters  it  in  other  parts,  has  gradually 
made  it  more  than  six  times  salter  than  the  open  ocean.  Things 
are  soon  encrusted  with  its  salty  evaporations. 

Edersheim  says  :  '  Tradition  has  since  pointed  out  a  mountain  of 
salt,  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Dead  Sea,  as  the  spot  where 
the  occurrence  had  taken  place.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that,  like 

28 


434     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

most  traditions,  which  only  import  a  disturbing  element  into  om 
thinking,  this  also  is  not  founded  on  fact.' 

Bishop  Patrick  offers  an  account  of  the  incident  which  is  difficult 
to  improve  upon.  *  Some  of  that  storm  which  overwhelmed  her 
country,  overtook  her,  and  falling  upon  her,  as  she  stood  staring 
about,  and  minded  not  her  way  or  guide,  suddenly  wrapped  her 
body  in  a  sheet  of  nitro-sulphureous  matter ;  which  congealing  into 
a  crust  as  hard  as  stone,  made  her  appear,  they  say,  a  pillar  of  salt, 
her  body  being,  as  it  were,  candied  in  it.' 

Though  no  identification  of  any  column  or  pillar  is  either  possible 
or  necessary,  and  those  suggested  are  not  found  in  likely  situations, 
it  is  interesting  to  note  a  discovery  made  by  the  American  Expedition. 
'  At  Usdum,  on  the  south-west  of  the  lake,  they  discovered  a  pillar 
forty  feet  in  height,  being  a  great  block  of  rock-salt,  partially  de- 
tached from  the  salt  mountain  that  stands  there.  It  is  on  a  plateau 
1000  feet  above  the  sea-level.  It  is  a  tall  isolated  needle  of  rock, 
which  really  does  bear  a  curious  resemblance  to  an  Arab  woman 
with  a  child  upon  her  shoulders.' 

The  death  of  Lot's  wife  may  be  classed  among  the  events  which 
are  properly  called  '  miracles  of  Providence,'  in  which  ordinary 
natural  forces  are  so  timed,  and  set  in  such  relations,  as  to  carry  out 
some  special  Divine  design. 

Lange  ventures  on  an  explanation  which  altogether  removes  the 
miraculous  element  from  the  story.  *  The  looking  back  is  plainly  not 
more  to  be  understood  in  a  strict  literal  sense  than  the  account  that 
she  became  a  pillar  of  salt.  Female  curiosity,  and  the  longing  for 
her  home  in  Sodom,  led  her  to  remain  behind  Lot,  and  delay,  so 
that  she  was  overtaken  in  the  destruction.'  It  certainly  is  a  striking 
thing  that  our  Lord  uses  this  judgment  to  illustrate  *  returning  back,' 
and  not  merely  '  looking  back'  (Luke  xvii.  31,  32). 

The  Position  of  the  Red  Sea  Crossing. 

EXODUS  xiv.  9  :  *  And  the  Egyptians  pursued  after  them,  all  the  horses  and 
chariots  of  Pharaoh,  and  his  horsemen,  and  his  army,  and  overtook  them  encamp- 
ing by  the  sea,  beside  Pi-hahiroth,  before  Baal-Zephon.' 

Question. — Have  modern  researches  succeeded  in  identifying  the 
place  of  the  crossing ;  and  if  so,  does  the  identification  suggest  any 
explanations  of  the  leading  features  of  the  narrative  f 

Answer. — It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  conditions  of  the 
district  should  remain  precisely  the  same  as  they  were  three  thousand 
years  ago.  Recedings  of  tides,  encroachments  of  sands,  and  denu- 


THE  POSITION  OF  THE  RED  SEA  CROSSING.     435 

dalions  of  hills,  would  alter  the  natural  features,  and  the  changes  of 
dynasties,  and  shiftings  of  commerce,  caravan  routes,  etc,  would 
lead  to  the  removal  of  populations,  and  the  decay  of  towns,  villages, 
forts,  watch-towers,  etc.  Still,  in  this  case,  the  general  position  so 
jfar  remains  the  same,  that  a  satisfactory  conclusion  can  be  arrived  at. 

Such  a  map  as  is  found  in  Speaker's  Commentary,  vol.  L,  p.  435  ; 
or  in  Biblical  Treasury ,  New  Series,  vol.  ii.,  p.  72,  will  prove  very 
helpful  in  tracing  the  route  of  the  Israelites.  That  in  the  Speakers 
Commentary  marks  in  a  very  distinct  way  the  shoal  between  the 
head  of  the  Red  Sea  and  the  end  of  the  southern  Bitter  Lake,  which 
is  now  generally  recognised  as  the  scene  of  the  crossing. 

In  deciding  the  position  we  must  keep  in  mind  the  necessities 
which  had  to  be  met.  A  large  army  of  men  may  have  marched 
across  a  narrow  space — like  a  bridge — in  a  few  hours ;  but  in  this 
case  a  nation,  including  men,  women,  and  children ;  flocks,  herds, 
baggage,  sick  and  infirm  folk,  etc.,  had  to  be  conveyed  across  during 
the  hours  of  one  night,  and  the  distance,  at  the  lowest  computation, 
must  have  been  three  miles ;  it  is  variously  estimated,  some  even 
suggesting  six  to  twelve  miles.  It  is  quite  certain  therefore  that  the 
crossing  would  be  over  a  sand  bank,  and  not  through  the  deep  part 
of  the  Red  Sea,  which  would  have  involved  a  perilous  descent  into 
the  bottom,  and  a  most  toilsome  ascent  on  the  further  side,  involving 
serious  delay  in  the  passage.  We  are  distinctly  told  that  the  crossing 
took  place  in  the  time  between  two  tides,  which  would  be  only,  at 
the  most,  from  six  to  eight  hours. 

In  view  of  the  facts  which  seem  now  to  be  generally  admitted,  it 
is  safe  to  believe  that  the  crossing  took  place  near  Suez,  the  head  ot 
the  Red  Sea,  at  a  part  which  is  now  silted  up  with  sand  (through 
which  the  Suez  Canal  has  recently  been  cut),  rising  not  more  than 
six  feet  above  the  level  of  the  lakes.  This  wide  belt  of  sand  now 
divides  the  Red  Sea  from  the  Bitter  Lakes,  but  these  were  un- 
doubtedly at  one  time  joined  together,  the  sea  lying  shallow  over 
this  sand  belt,  or  perhaps  only  covering  it  at  the  rise  of  the  tide. 

Some  assert  that  there  was  a  known  ford  at  this  spot,  but  the  ford 
would  only  be  a  narrow  passage,  just  where  the  water  channel  was 
safe,  and  such  a  ford  would  be  quite  useless  for  such  an  immense 
host  of  human  beings  and  animals.  Nothing  is  clearer  than  that 
they  must  have  crossed  over  a  wide  tract  of  hardened  sand,  reaching 
almost  miles  in  width.  The  notion  of  their  going  across  in  a  narrow 
procession  will  not  stand  criticism. 

The  most  reasonable  account  that  can  be  given  of  the  circum- 
stances is  as  follows.  We  assume,  in  our  narration,  that  the  whole 

28—2 


.,36      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

company  of  people  and  animals  kept  together  under  the  direction  of 
Moses.  To  relieve  the  difficulties  of  the  narrative,  some  have  very 
needlessly  suggested  that  Moses  divided  the  caravan  at  Etham, 
sending  the  flocks,  servants,  and  women,  etc.,  round  the  north  end 
of  the  Bitter  Lakes,  and  into  the  wilderness  of  Etham,  while  he  con- 
ducted the  armed  Israelites  southwards  towards  Jebel  Atakah.  No 
hint  of  any  such  arrangement  is  given  in  the  Scriptures,  and  we  can 
conceive  of  nothing  more  unlikely. 

The  entire  host,  possibly  marshalled  in  five  sections,  started  from 
Raineses,  marched  to  Etham,  the  frontier  fortress  of  Egypt  towards 
the  wilderness,  and  the  starting-point  for  the  ordinary  route  to 
Palestine.  This  Etham  lay  between  Lake  Timsah,  and  the  northern 
end  of  the  Bitter  Lakes.  At  this  place  the  strange  Divine  command 
came  to  change  the  route,  turn  southward,  and  march  towards  Jebel 
Atakah,  with  the  Bitter  Lakes  lying  on  the  left  hand  of  the  host. 
The  encampment  was  made  under  Jebel  Atakah,  where  the  Red  Sea 
narrowed,  so  as  to  be  only  from  three  to  six  miles  across.  The 
position  of  the  encampment  is  marked  by  three  names,  and  if  we 
may  conclude  that  there  was  a  regular  ford  at  this  spot,  the  names 
may  well  indicate  the  watch-towers  or  fort  that  marked  it,  and  the 
town  which  provided  rest  and  shelter  for  those  who  undertook 
crossing  the  ford.  Israel  stretched  for  some  distance  northward 
close  along  the  shores  of  the  sea,  ready  to  start  straight  across  the 
dried  sands  as  soon  as  the  signal  was  given. 

Pi-hahiroth  is  generally  identified  with  Ajrud,  a  fortress  with  a 
very  large  well  of  good  water,  situate  at  the  foot  of  an  elevation 
commanding  the  plain  which  extends  to  Suez,  at  a  distance  of  four 
leagues.  The  journey  from  Etham  might  occupy  two,  if  not  three 
days. 

Migdol  means  a  tower  or  fort,  probably  Bir  Suweis,  about  two 
miles  from  Suez.  Baal  Zephon  was  nearer  to  Suez.  These  three 
places  really  represent  the  space  over  which  the  encampment  of  the 
Israelite  host  extended.  Pi-hahiroth  its  northern  part ;  Suez  its 
southern  ;  and  Migdol  its  centre,  or  head- quarters.  They  were  thus 
full  in  front  of  the  wide  sand-belt  which  was  to  be  made  hard  and 
dry  for  them. 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  collects  some  further  information  on  the  physical 
features  of  this  district.  '  At  the  point  where  Suez  lies,  the  western 
bank  juts  out  in  a  point,  to  the  east,  so  that  the  bay  has  only  a 
breadth  of  two-thirds  of  an  English  mile.  But,  below  the  town, 
towards  the  south,  the  bank  retires  in  a  deep  bend  to  the  west, 
leaving  a  breadth  of  water  of  from  three  to  four  English  miles.  The 


THE  POSITION  OF  THE  RED  SEA  CROSSING.     437 

bottom  of  this  stretch  of  sea  consists,  next  the  land,  of  sandbanks 
and  rocky  soil,  firm  and  level,  and  sprinkled  with  sea-grass.  The 
sandbanks  run  out  to  this  from  the  Eastern  shore,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  opening,  are  dry  at  the  lowest  ebb,  or  covered 
with  only  little  water.  Such  is  the  southern  ford,  through  which, 
Robinson  was  told,  the  people  waded  at  low  water,  though  the  depth, 
even  then,  was  five  feet,  in  the  channel  dividing  the  bank  from  north 
to  south.  This,  or  the  ford  which  runs  in  a  line  with  Suez,  where 
the  waters  are  so  much  narrower,  may  have  been  the  spot  at  which 
Jehovah,  making  use,  so  far,  of  natural  laws,  led  the  Israelites  safely 
over.' 

E.  S.  Poole  says  :  '  The  most  important  change  in  the  Red  Sea 
has  been  the  drying  up  of  its  northern  extremity,  "  the  tongue  of  the 
Egyptian  Sea."  The  land  about  the  head  of  the  gulf  has  risen,  and 
that  near  the  Mediterranean  become  depressed.  The  head  of  the 
gulf  has  consequently  retired  gradually  since  the  Christian  era.  The 
tongue  of  the  Red  Sea  has  dried  up  for  a  distance  of  at  least  fifty 
miles  from  its  ancient  head,  and  a  cultivated  and  well-peopled 
province  has  been  changed  into  a  desolate  wilderness.  The  country, 
for  the  distance  above  indicated,  is  now  a  desert  of  gravelly  sand, 
with  wide  patches  about  the  old  sea-bottom,  of  rank  marsh  land,  now 
called  the  "  Bitter  Lakes  "  (not  those  of  Strabo).  At  the  northern 
extremity  of  this  salt  waste  is  a  small  lake  sometimes  called  the  Lake 
of  Heroopolis  (the  city  after  which  the  gulf  of  Suez  was  called  the 
Heroopolite  Gulf) :  the  lake  is  now  Birket  et  Timsah,  "  the  Lake  of 
the  Crocodile,"  and  is  supposed  to  mark  the  ancient  head  of  the 
gulf.' 

The  Fire-Sign  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Temple. 

2  CHRONICLES  vii.  I  :  '  Now  when  Solomon  had  made  an  end  of  praying,  tlie 
tire  came  down  from  heaven,  and  consumed  the  burnt-offerings  and  the  sacrifices  ; 
and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  house.' 

Question. — Should  this  Divine  fire  be  distinguished  from  light- 
ning1} Or  may  we  think  that  the  ordinary  natural  force  of  electricity 
was  used  in  new  and  surprising  ways  ? 

Answer. — So  much  depends  on  whether  it  seems  to  us  most 
honouring  to  God  that  He  should  bend,  to  the  doing  of  His  will,  the 
things  He  has  already  created  and  appointed,  or  that  He  should  on 
emergency  absolutely  create  new  forces.  A  fuller  understanding  01 
the  wisdom  and  mystery  of  creation  is,  in  our  day,  strengthening  the 
feeling  that  God's  honour  is  seen  in  His  wonder-working  within  the 
spheres  of  natural  law  rather  than  beyond  it ;  and  it  is  probable  that 


438      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  tendency,  in  coming  years,  will  set  more  and  more  strongly 
in  favour  of  finding  '  God  in  Nature,'  rather  than  *  God  outside 
Nature.' 

In  this — and  similar  cases  recorded  in  Old  Testament  history — 
there  seems  no  good  reason  for  assuming  the  creation  of  a  new  fire 
element.  The  electrical  force,  which  is  in  the  Divine  control,  is 
efficient  to  accomplish  all  the  results  described.  We  are  not  to 
assume  that  the  fire  consumed  the  sacrifices  apart  from  kindling  the 
fuel  on  which  the  sacrifices  were  laid.  The  Divine  fire  was  the 
spark  that  set  the  pile  alight ;  and  what  is  called  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  is  the  cloud  of  smoke  which  rose  from  the  burning  altar,  which 
glowed  brightly  because  full  of  the  reflections  of  the  fire.  Such  scenes 
could  but  be  seen  in  the  excitement  of  aroused  religious  feeling,  and 
we  are  told  what  devout  and  enthusiastic  men  thought  things  to  be,  and 
felt  them  to  be,  rather  than  what  they  actually  were.  The  Bible  must 
be  read  with  something  of  the  quickened  imagination  and  feeling 
which  are  so  evident  in  the  composition  of  very  much  of  it ;  and  due 
account  must  be  taken  of  the  fact  that  natural  phenomena  are 
accounted  as  wonderful  and  miraculous  simply  because  they  are  not 
understood,  and  their  connections  with  things  that  are  understood 
cannot  readily  be  traced.  It  is  only  in  quite  recent  years  that  elec- 
tricity, as  a  sublime  natural  force  of  light  and  life,  has  been  at  all 
studied ;  and  it  is  now  seen  to  be  one  of  the  most  potent  forces, 
whose  power  of  service  to  man,  under  the  development  of  the  future, 
no  man  can  possibly  imagine.  It  may  even  be  that  the  seemingly 
erratic  agencies  of  earthquake  and  volcanic  fire  may  be  found  to 
follow  fixed  laws,  and  when  man  has  come  to  understand  them,  even 
the  volcano  and  the  earthquake  may  be  yoked  to  man's  service. 
These  things  are  semi-miracles  to  us  now,  even  as  the  Divine  fire 
was  of  old  to  the  Jews,  simply  because  the  laws  of  them  are  still  a 
mystery. 

The  point  which  should  be  especially  considered  is,  that  God  is 
quite  as  truly  in  the  use  of  things  that  already  exist,  as  in  the  creation 
of  special  things  for  the  outworking  of  His  purpose.  And  God's 
using  of  existing  things  in  an  extraordinary  way  is  designed  to  impress 
on  all  sensitive  hearts  the  graciousness  of  His  using  existing  things 
in  an  ordinary  way.  The  particular  effect  produced  on  Solomon  and 
nis  nation  by  the  descending  fire  need  not  be  produced  on  our 
minds ;  it  is  enough  that  we  learn  the  permanent  lesson,  for  the  sake 
of  which  the  narrative  is  preserved,  that  God  surely  grants  His 
acceptance,  and  the  sense  of  His  acceptance,  to  all  those  who  faith 
fully  endeavour  to  carry  out  His  blessed  will. 


ELIJAHS  RA  VENS.  439 

Elijah's  Ravens. 

•  I  KINGS  xvii.  4  :  '  And  it  shall  be,  that  thou  shalt  drink  of  the  brook ;  and  I  have 
commanded  the  ravens  to  feed  thee  there.' 

Difficulty. — These  carrion  birds  do  not  seem  to  be  fitting  agents  for 
the  supply  of  the  prophefs  daily  needs  ;  and  yet  the  suggestion  that 
Arabians,  not  ravens,  are  meant  seems  to  add  to,  rather  than  relieve, 
the  difficulties  of  the  incident. 

Explanation. — If  read  without  the  present  vowel  points,  the 
word  translated  '  ravens  '  may  signify  *  Arabians.'  And  if  read  with 
the  present  pointing,  it  is  possible  to  render  the  word  as  '  merchants,' 
or  as  '  Orbites.' 

To  Jerome  seems  due  the  suggestion,  that  a  people  dwelling  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  known  as  Orbites,  from  the  town  of  Orbo,  near 
Bethshan,  were  the  real  succourers  of  Elijah;  but  it  is  extremely 
improbable  that  men  would  take  either  the  trouble  or  the  risk  of 
coming  morning  and  evening  with  fresh  food,  when  they  could  have 
left  the  prophet  a  sufficient  supply  to  last  for  several  days. 

It  is  passing  strange  to  find  Kitto  supporting  the  rendering 
1  Arbim,'  Arabs,  in  preference  to  '  Orebim,'  ravens  ;  and,  though  we 
do  not  agree  with  his  suggestion,  it  will  interest  our  readers,  and 
serve  to  illustrate  how  the  most  orthodox  Biblical  writers  feel  the 
importance  of  keeping  the  miraculous  element  within  the  strictest 
limits,  and  recognising  the  '  providentia-1,'  where  the  enthusiast  will 
think  he  finds  the  miraculous.  Dealing  with  the  view  that  birds  are 
intended,  Kitto  says :  '  The  statement  in  the  text  does  not  require  us 
to  suppose  that  the  ravens  with  purpose  and  forethought  brought 
victuals  designedly  for  Elijah,  and  laid  them  before  him,  or  pre- 
sented them  to  him.  This  was  not  required  for  the  object  in  view, 
and  therefore  was  probably  not  done  ;  for  God  does  not  work  need- 
less miracles It  may  suffice  to  suppose  that  the  place  to 

which  Elijah  had  been  directed  to  retreat,  was  the  chosen  resort  of 
ravens,  which  had  their  nests  among  the  trees  that  grew  on  the 
banks  of  the  stream.  They  brought  home,  morning  and  evening,  to 
their  nests  as  much  animal  and  vegetable  food  as  sufficed  not  only  for 
their  own  wants,  but  for  those  of  Elijah,  who  secured  what  he  required, 
and  dressed  it  with  the  dry  wood  which  abounds  in  such  situations. 
....  But  the  natural  food  of  the  raven  was  that  which,  least  of  all, 
an  Israelite  obedient  to  the  law  could  touch.  He  could  not  eat  that 
which  died  of  itself ;  yet  this  is  generally  the  case  with  the  carrion, 
which  forms  the  proper  diet  of  the  raven.  Still,  the  food  of  the 


440      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

raven  is  not  exclusively  carrion.  Among  birds  there  is  none  more 
omnivorous  in  its  appetite.  There  is  scarcely  anything  that  comes 

amiss  to  it It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  the  prophet  was 

supplied  from  the  ordinary  resources  and  operations  of  the  ravens. 
If  we  admit  that  they  were  the  agents  through  which  subsistence  was. 
given  to  him,  we  must  hold  their  agency  to  have  been  miraculous  in 
all  its  circumstances,  and  that  suitable  and  adequate  food  was  daily 
presented  by  miracle  twice  to  the  notice  of  the  ravens,  which 
they  were  impelled  to  bear  away  to  Elijah's  hiding-place,  and  to  drop 
there.1 

On  the  identification  of  the  so-called  ravens  with  Arabians,  or 
Orbim,  Kitto  says  :  *  Going  over  the  list  of  alternatives,  that  of 
"  Arabs  "  instead  of  "  ravens,"  is  probably  the  one  that  persons  free 
from  any  previous  bias  would  spontaneously  select  as  the  most  pro- 
bable. For  ourselves,  though  we  should  not  hesitate  at  the  ravens, 
if  quite  sure  that  those  birds  are  really  intended,  yet  when  the 
alternative  is  thus  open,  we  rather  incline  to  the  Arabs — influenced, 
perhaps,  by  such  a  knowledge  of  the  habits  and  character  of  that 
people  as  enables  us  to  perceive  their  entire  fitness  to  be  the  agents 
of  this  Providential  dispensation  in  favour  of  Elijah.  To  us  nothing 
seems  more  likely  than  that  encampments  of  Arabs — who  still  intrude 
their  tents  at  certain  times  of  the  year  upon  the  borders,  or  into 
the  unappropriated  pastures  of  settled  countries,  would,  at  this  season, 
of  drought,  have  been  forced  within  reach  of  the  brook  Cherith. 
They  were,  from  their  condition  and  habits  of  life,  the  very  persons 
to  whom  the  secret  of  his  retreat  might  be  most  safely  entrusted.  .  .  . 
When  once  he  had  eaten  of  their  bread  and  meat,  the  great  law  of 
Arabian  honour  made  him  secure  of  continued  support  and  safe  from 
betrayal.' 

It  is  not  necessary  to  assume  that  the  precise  birds  employed  were 
those  which  are  now  classed  under  the  term  '  ravens  ' ;  precision  of 
distinctions  in  matters  of  natural  history  is  not  to  be  looked  for  in 
the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  To  those  who  believe  in  God,  there 
should  be  no  difficulty  in  apprehending  the  Divine  control  of  the 
instincts  of  the  creatures.  We  need  not  unduly  force  language,  which 
is  expressed  in  Eastern  poetical  form,  so  as  to  suppose  that  with 
absolute  regularity  to  the  hour  the  birds  returned  with  the  food. 
Every  day  some  birds  brought  supply,  and  as  they  only  brought 
enough  for  the  day,  Elijah  learnt  well  the  lesson  of  daily  waiting  on 
God.  Our  daily  bread  does  come  from  Him,  whether  birds  be  the 
agents  in  carrying  it  or  it  comes  in  the  ordinary  lines  of  toil. 

The  Rev.  C.J.  Ball  gathers  up  all  that  it  seems  necessary  to  add  in 


ELIJAH'S  RA  YENS,  44 1 

the  following  note  on  the  verse  :  '  Of  the  accuracy  of  this  rendering, 
which  is  that  of  almost  all  the  ancient  versions  and  of  Josephus,  there 
can  be  little  doubt.  The  singularly  prosaic  interpretations,  sub- 
stituted for  this  striking  and  significant  record  of  miracle  by  some 
ancient  and  modern  writers  (adopting  slight  variations  of  the  Hebrew 
vowel-points) — such  as  "  Arabs,"  "  merchants,"  "  inhabitants  of  a  city 
Orbi,  or  the  rock  Oreeb  " — seem  to  have  arisen  simply  from  a  desire 
to  get  rid  of  what  seemed  a  strange  miracle,  at  the  cost  (be  it  observed) 
of  substituting  for  it  a  gross  improbability;  for  how  can  it  be  supposed 
that  such  regular  sustenance  by  human  hands  of  the  persecuted 
prophet  could  have  gone  on  in  the  face  of  the  jealous  vigilance  of 
the  king  ?  But  it  is  idle  to  seek  to  explain  away  one  wonder  in  a 
life  and  an  epoch  teeming  with  miracles.  It  is  notable,  indeed,  that 
the  critical  period  of  the  great  Baal  apostasy,  and  of  the  struggle  of 
Elijah  and  Elisha  against  it,  is  the  second  great  epoch  of  recorded 
miracle  in  the  Old  Testament — the  still  more  critical  epoch  of 
Moses  and  Joshua  being  the  first  It  is  hardly  less  idle  to  deter- 
mine that  this  or  that  miracle  is  so  improbable,  than  to  introduce 
any  difficulty  of  acceptance  which  does  not  apply  to  miracles  in 
general.' 

We  may  regard  it  significantly  in  favour  of  the  '  raven '  translation, 
that  Dean  Stanley,  who  always  gives  full  attention  to  naturalistic 
suggestions,  nevertheless  writes  on  this  matter  thus  :  '  Thither,  we 
are  told,  night  and  morning,  came  the  ravens  that  frequented  that 
one  green  spot,  "  the  young  ravens  "  of  Palestine  that  cry  to  God— 
"  the  ravens "  whom  God  feedeth,  "  though  they  neither  sow  nor 
reap  » — and  laid  their  portion  of  bread  and  flesh  at  break  of  day  and 
at  fall  of  evening  by  the  side  of  the  gushing  stream.' 

The  Shadow  on  the  Dial  of  Ahaz. 

2  KINGS  xx.  1 1  :  *  And  Isaiah  the  prophet  cried  unto  the  Lord  :  and  He  brought 
the  shadow  ten  steps  backward,  by  which  it  had  gone  down  on  the  dial  of  Ahaz.' 

Difficulty. — If  this  change  in  tJie  position  of  the  shadow  involves  an 
alteration  of  the  sun's  place  in  the  heavens,  according  to  the  older  notion, 
or  an  arrest  of  the  earth's  motion  round  the  sun,  and  wen  a  motion 
of  the  earth  backwards,  according  to  modern  notions,  it  was  a  stupendous 
miracle,  and  apparently  beyond  the  necessities  of  the  case. 

Explanation. — It  must  frankly  be  admitted  that  the  varied 
consequences  resulting  from  a  temporary  alteration  of  the  earth's 
position  in  relation  to  the  sun,  so  as  to  cause  a  change  of  shadow, 
are  too  serious  to  allow  of  that  as  the  explanation  of  this  incident. 


442     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Nor  is  it  necessary  to  resort  to  such  an  explanation.  Hezekiah  was 
not  an  astronomer.  He  did  not  puzzle  over  the  method  in  which 
this  phenomenon  came  about  For  the  Divine  purpose,  and  for  the 
encouraging  of  the  faith  of  the  king,  it  was  enough  that  so  unusual 
an  event  occurred;  that  no  human  agency  was  concerned  in  pro- 
ducing the  effect ;  and  that  it  bore  direct  relation  to  God,  as  being 
His  response  to  His  servant's  prayers.  We  have  to  inquire  what  was 
sufficient  to  effect  the  desired  moral  result,  and  we  need  not  go  beyond 
that  to  assume  displays  of  Almighty  power  for  which  there  was  no 
demand. 

So  far  as  sending  back  the  shadow  on  a  dial  ten  degrees  is  con- 
cerned, any  mechanician  could  manage  that  by  due  refraction  of  the 
sun's  rays.  An  astronomer,  or,  indeed,  a  clockmaker,  could  make  a 
sundial  mark  any  time  he  liked.  And  God  could  work  in  the  same 
sphere,  and  use  the  same  instrumentalities  as  men  could  use.  The 
point  of  the  incident  is,  that  no  one  interfered  with  the  dial,  and  so 
it  must  have  been  God,  using  such  agencies  as  man  might  use,  who 
sent  the  shadow  back. 

But  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  understand,  as  far  as  possible, 
what  this  *  dial '  was :  and  see  what  suggestions  have  been  made  in 
explanation  of  this  unusual  phenomenon.  Burder's  note  on  ancient 
modes  of  measuring  time  may  be  first  given.  *  At  the  beginning  of 
the  world  it  is  certain  there  was  no  distinction  of  time  but  by  the 
light  and  darkness,  and  the  whole  day  was  included  in  the  general 
terms  of  the  evening  and  morning.  The  Chaldeans,  ages  after  the 
flood,  were  the  first  who  divided  the  day  into  hours.  Sundials  are  of 
ancient  use ;  but  as  they  were  of  no  service  in  cloudy  weather  and  in 
the  night,  there  was  another  invention  for  measuring  the  parts  of  time 
by  water ;  but  that  not  proving  sufficiently  exact,  they  laid  it  aside 
for  another  by  sand.  The  use  of  dials  was  adopted  earlier  among  the 
Greeks  than  the  Romans.  It  was  about  three  hundred  years  after 
the  building  of  Rome  before  they  knew  anything  of  them ;  but  yet 
they  had  divided  the  day  and  night  into  twenty-four  hours,  though 
they  did  not  count  the  hours  numerically,  but  from  midnight  to  mid- 
night, distinguishing  them  by  particular  names,  as  by  cock-crowing, 
the  dawn,  the  mid-day,  etc.  The  first  sun-dial  we  read  of  among  the 
Romans,  which  divided  the  day  into  hours,  is  mentioned  by  Pliny,  as 
fixed  upon  the  temple  of  Quirinus  by  L.  Papyrius,  the  censor,  about 
the  twelfth  year  of  the  wars  with  Pyrrhus.  Scipio  Nasica,  some  years 
after,  measured  the  day  and  night  into  hours  from  the  dropping  of 
water.' 

The  determination  of  the  moment  of  noon,  by  the   absence  of 


THE  SHADOW  ON  THE  DIAL  OF  AHAZ.        443 

shadow  cast  from  a  wall  built  north  and  south,  was  well  known  to  all 
Eastern  people,  and  appears  to  have  been  introduced  into  the 
structure  of  the  Court  of  Israel  by  King  Solomon. 

The  possible  translation  of  the  word  '  degrees  '  as  '  steps '  has  led 
to  the  suggestion  that  a  staircase  in  the  palace  of  Hezekiah  was  made 
to  measure  the  hours  of  the  day  by  a  shadow  falling  on  the  steps. 
(So  Josephus  and  Jerome.)  Knobel^ute  this  suggestion  in  its  most 
probable  shape.  He  thinks  the  dial  consisted  of  a  column  rising 
from  a  circular  flight  of  steps,  so  as  to  throw  the  shadow  of  its 
top  on  the  top  step  at  noon,  and  morning  and  evening  on  the  bottom 
step. 

Kitto  describes  a  sort  of  dial  found  in  Hindustan,  near  Delhi,  the 
construction  of  which  would  exceedingly  well  suit  all  the  circum- 
stances recorded  respecting  the  dial  of  Ahaz.  It  seems  framed  to 
answer  the  double  purpose  of  an  observatory  and  a  dial.  It  is  a 
rectangled  triangular  figure,  whose  hypotenuse  is  a  staircase,  appar- 
ently parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  earth,  and  bisects  a  zone  or  coping  of 
a  wall,  which  wall  connects  the  two  terminating  towers  right  and  left. 
The  coping  itself  is  of  a  circular  form,  and  accurately  graduated  to 
mark,  by  the  shadow  of  the  gnomon  above,  the  sun's  progress  before 
and  after  noon  ;  for  when  the  sun  is  in  the  zenith  he  shines  directly 
on  the  staircase,  and  the  shadow  falls  upon  the  coping.  A  flat 
surface  on  the  top  of  the  staircase  of  the  gnomon  fitted  the  building 
for  the  purpose  of  an  observatory. 

But  it  must  seem  to  simple  Bible  readers  that  anything  so  elabo- 
rate as  this  is  unnecessary  to  the  narrative,  and  belongs  to  the  dispo- 
sition to  conjecture  wonderful  things  when  common-place  things 
sufficiently  meet  the  occasion.  There  need  only  have  been  a  dial- 
plate,  or  pillar  set  up  in  the  court  or  garden  of  the  palace,  as  such 
dials  are  often  set  up  in  gardens  now ;  and  this  arrangement  for 
measuring  time  is  so  readily  suggested  by  observation  of  the  moving 
sun-shadows,  that  we  may  be  quite  sure  it  was  early  adopted  The 
word  translated  *  degrees '  may  mean  lines  or  figures  on  a  dial-plate 
of  any  kind,  or  on  a  pavement  A  Jewish  Rabbi,  one  Ellas  Chomer, 
describes  the  dial  of  Ahaz  as  a  concave  hemisphere,  in  the  midst  of 
which  was  a  globe,  the  shadow  of  which  fell  upon  several  lines 
engraved  upon  the  concavity  of  the  hemisphere,  and  which  lines  are 
said  to  have  been  twenty-eight  in  number. 

Writers  who  are  most  keenly  alive  to  the  traces  of  the  miraculous 
in  the  Bible  agree  that  we  must  not  attempt  to  explain  this  phenom- 
enon by  any  alteration  of  the  axis,  or  motion,  of  the  earth.  The 
older  commentators,  almost  without  exception,  believed  in  the  actual 


444      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

reversing  of  the  earth's  motion  around  its  axis,  simply  because  they 
did  not  realize  what  such  a  reversal  must  of  necessity  involve.     On 
this  point  Kilto  has  the  following  wise  note  :  *  Some  have  supposed 
that,  to  produce  this  effect,  the  earth  was  made  to  retrograde  upon 
its  axis  for  a  space  corresponding  to  that  marked  by  ten  degrees  upon 
the  dial.    This  would  certainly  have  produced  the  effect  intended ;  but 
it  would  doubtless  have  produced  something  more.     Such  a  reversal 
of  the  order  of  nature,  and  disturbance  of  the  solar  system,  could 
hardly  have  happened  without  such  results  as  would  be  remembered 
through  the  world  to  the  end  of  time.     Yet  history  records  no  such 
event ;  and  its  local  character  is  indirectly  recognised  in  the  fact,  that 
the  prince  of  Babylon  sent  to  inquire  respecting  the  wonder  that  is 
done  in  the  land.     Besides,  in  the  course  of  human  conduct,  it  is  not 
deemed  wise  "  to  leap  over  the  house  to  unbar  the  little  gate ;" 
neither  do  we  find  that  the  Almighty  is  ever  redundant  in  manifesta- 
tions of  power,  but  rather  sparing — employing  just  so  much  power, 
and  no  more,  as  may  be  needful  to  produce  the  intended  result.     It 
is  therefore  not  likely,  judging  from  the  analogy  of  the  Divine  opera- 
tions, that  the  earth  should  be  sent  backward  in  its  course  to  produce 
an  effect  which  might  be  accomplished  by  means  as  sufficient,  and 
as  truly  miraculous,  though  with  less  derangement  to  those  laws  on 
which  God  has  established  the  universe,  and  which  He  does  not 
Himself  disturb  without  a  most  adequate  cause.' 

Bishop  Wordsworth  observes  :  '  It  is  not  said  by  the  sacred  writer 
that  this  miracle  was  wrought  on  any  other  dial  at  Jerusalem,  besides 
that  of  Ahaz,  the  father  of  Hezekiah.  We  are  not  to  imagine  that  in 
this  miracle  any  effect  was  wrought  upon  the  motion  of  the  earth 
round  its  axis.  A  miraculous  refraction  of  the  sun's  rays  was 
effected  by  God  on  a  particular  sun-dial,  at  the  prayer  of  King 
Hezekiah.  It  was  a  miracle,  wrought  on  a  particular  dial,  in  a  par- 
ticular place,  showing  that  it  concerned  a particular  person  ;  and  it  was 
not  wrought  on  the  solar  orb,  but  on  the  solar  light? 

Wordsworth  quotes  the  following  note  from  Bishop  Hall:  'The 
demonstration  of  the  miracle  is  reported  to  be  local  in  the  dial  of 
Ahaz,  not  universal  in  the  sensible  length  of  the  day ;  whethersoever 
to  draw  the  sun  back  with  the  shadow,  or  to  draiv  the  shadow  back 
without  the  sun,  was  the  proof  of  a  Divine  Omnipotence,  able  to  draw 
back  the  life  of  Hezekiah  from  the  night  of  death.' 

The  explanations  offered  either  suggest  a  refraction  of  the  sun's 
rays,  an  alteration  of  the  height  of  the  pillar,  which  acted  as  the 
gnomon,  by  an  earthquake,  or  the  effect  of  a  partial  eclipse. 

The  effect  upon  the  shadow   might  have  been  produced   by  a 


THE  SHADO  W  ON  THE  DIAL  OF  AHAZ.        445 

niraculous  deflection  of  the  rays  which  fell  upon  the  dial,  so  as  to 
hrow  back  the  shadow  to  the  extent  required.  Or  there  may  have 
xjen  a  simple  refraction  of  the  rays,  through  the  sudden  interposi 
ion  of  a  different  medium.  *  That  such  refraction  takes  place  when 
•ays  of  light  pass  through  a  denser  medium,  is  a  well-known  physical 
act  The  most  striking  illustration  is  perhaps  found  in  the  observa- 
ion  made,  on  the  27th  March,  1703,  by  P.  Romauld,  prior  of  the 
doister  of  Metz,  that,  owing  to  such  refraction  in  the  higher  regions 
af  the  atmosphere,  in  connection  with  the  appearance  of  a  cloud,  the 
shadow  of  his  dial  deviated  an  hour  and  a  half.' 

The  possibility  of  the  effect  having  been  produced  by  a  partial 
eclipse  is  efficiently  given  in  a  note  of  the  Speakers  Commentary, 
following  an  article  by  Bosanquet,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Asiatic 
Society.  *  Recently  it  has  been  urged  with  a  good  deal  of  force  that 
the  true  cause  of  the  phenomenon  was  a  solar  eclipse,  in  which  the 
moon  obscured  the  entire  upper  limb  of  the  sun  ;  and  it  has  been 
clearly  shown  that  if  such  an  occurrence  took  place  a  little  before 
mid-day,  it  would  have  had  the  effect  described  as  having  taken  place 
— i.e.,  during  the  obscuration  of  the  sun's  upper  limb  shadows  would 
be  sensibly  lengthened,  and  that  of  the  obelisk  would  descend  the 
stairs ;  as  the  obscuration  passed  off  the  reverse  would  take  place, 
shadows  would  shorten,  and  that  of  the  obelisk  would  once  more 
retire  up  the  steps.  If  this  be  the  true  account,  the  miracle  would 
consist  in  Isaiah's  supernatural  foreknowledge  of  an  event  which  the 
astronomy  of  the  age  was  quite  incapable  of  predicting,  and  in  the 
Providential  guidance  of  Hezekiah's  will,  so  that  he  chose  the 
"  sign  "  which,  in  the  natural  course  of  things,  was  about  to  be  mani- 
fested.' 

An  eclipse  occurring,  as  reckoned  by  Thenius,  on  Sept  26th, 
713  B.C.,  may  possibly  be  that  alluded  to,  but  unfortunately  this 
date  does  not  harmonize  with  the  Assyrian  chronology. 


A  Pathway  through  Jordan. 

JOSHUA  iii.  16  :  '  The  waters  which  came  down  from  above  stood,  and  rose  up 
in  one  heap,  a  great  way  off,  at  Adam,  the  city  that  is  beside  Zarethan  ;  and  those 
that  went  down  toward  the  sea  of  the  Arabah,  even  the  Salt  Sea,  were  wholly  cut 
off;  and  the  people  passed  over  right  against  Jericho  '  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — This  language  suggests  that  tfie  miracle  was  wrought 
through  some  ordinary  mechanical  agency  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
of  any  that  would  be  effective  in  the  case  of  a  swift  and  flooded  river. 

Explanation. — The  carefulness  and  precision  of  this  descrip- 
tion certainly  suggest  that  the  account  given  was  intended  to  be 


446      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

understood  as,  in  some  sense,  explaining  the  phenomenon.  We  are, 
however,  at  disadvantage,  because  we  cannot  with  certainty  identify 
the  place  named  Adam,  and  so  cannot  be  sure  of  the  physical 
features  of  the  river  at  this  particular  spot. 

In  attempting  to  realize  the  scene  of  the  crossing,  we  should  first 
divest  our  minds  of  some  associations  which  we  have  inherited  in 
relation  to  it.  Until  late  years  there  was  a  strong  tendency,  among 
pious  people,  to  exaggerate  the  wonder  of  the  Bible  miracles.  They 
were  regarded  as  0;z//-natural,  and  it  was  thought  to  glorify  God  if 
He  was  regarded  as  interfering  with  nature  as  much  as  possible.  We 
now  think  of  these  incidents  as  su#er-na\.ura\,  and  think  God  is 
honoured  by  our  recognising  His  working  through  Nature,  and  inter- 
fering with  the  '  order '  as  little  as  possible.  So  our  fathers  imagined 
the  upper  waters  heaped  up  on  the  one  side,  and  the  lower  waters 
heaped  up  on  the  other,  and  a  narrow  lane,  between  the  walls  of 
water,  crested  with  foaming  waves,  through  which  the  whole  host  of 
Israel  marched  in  narrow  files. 

But  all  this  is  pure  imagination,  an  attempt  to  realize  the  scene 
without  attending  to  the  strict  descriptions  given  in  the  Scripture. 
We  cannot  wonder  that  such  unfounded  imaginations  gave  occa- 
sion to  the  sceptic  and  the  scoffer  to  blaspheme.  Such  a  host,  with 
all  their  '  impedimenta,'  would  take  days  to  cross  a  stream  if  only 
such  a  passage  was  given  them  ;  and  such  an  alteration  in  the  nature 
and  ways  of  water,  as  is  involved  in  such  a  description,  is  quite  un- 
necessary to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  narrative. 

Stated  briefly,  what  we  may  suppose  to  have  occurred  is  this.  At 
the  part  over  against  Jericho,  there  is  a  ford,  and  comparatively 
shallow  water  for  a  long  space.  By  some  convulsion  of  nature, 
earthquake  and  other  agency,  the  river  was  for  a  time  dammed,  at  a 
narrow  gorge,  some  twenty  miles  up  the  stream.  As  Jordan  is  a 
swift-flowing  stream,  as  soon  as  the  flow  was  dammed  back,  or  cut 
off,  the  waters  would  quickly  drain  away,  leaving  a  dry,  stony  bed  ex- 
posed for  quite  a  long  distance.  Across  any  part  of  this,  below  the 
position  taken  up  by  the  priests  with  the  ark,  the  people,  cattle,  and 
baggage  hurriedly  went ;  and  in  this  way  a  few  hours  sufficed  to  get 
the  whole  nation  on  the  upper  terrace  west  of  Jordan,  before  the 
swelling  river  overtopped  its  obstacle,  or  forced  it  away,  and  came 
rolling  down  again,  filling  all  its  banks.  As  the  Bible  account  bids 
us  look  for  the  natural  agency  which  God  used  in  this  most  wonderful 
way  to  effect  His  gracious  purpose,  we  are  justified  in  offering  the 
suggestion  of  such  a  solution.  But  it  will  be  well  to  see  what  sup- 
port can  be  gained  for  it. 


A  PATHWAY  THROUGH  JORDAN.  447 

4  The  Jordan  flows  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  valley,  which  descends 
to»  the  water's  edge  on  either  side  in  two,  occasionally  in  three, 
terraces.  Within  the  lowest  of  these  the  stream,  ordinarily  less  than 
100  feet  wide  in  this  lower  part  of  its  course,  is  confined/  Usually 
the  river  is  easily  forded,  and  at  the  time  of  spring-flood  it  may  be 
crossed  by  swimming,  for  this  the  two  spies  must  have  done  both 
going  and  returning. 

The  Speakers  Commentary  fully  recognises  the  natural  agency  em- 
ployed. '  The  city  of  Adam  is  not  named  elsewhere ;  and  Zarthan 
erroneously  written  Zaretan  in  A.V.,  though  mentioned  i  Kings, 
iv.  12 ;  vii.  46,  has  also  disappeared.  It  is,  however,  probably  con- 
nected with  the  modern  Kurn  Sartabeh  (Horn  ot  Sartabeh),  the 
name  given  to  a  lofty  and  isolated  hill  some  seventeen  miles  on  the 
river  above  Jericho.  Here  high  rocks  on  either  side  contract  the 
valley  to  its  narrowest  point,  and  seem  almost  to  throw  a  barrier 
across  it ;  and  here,  in  all  likelihood,  "  far  away  "  from  where  Joshua 
and  Israel  were  passing,  were  the  waters  held  back  and  accumulated 
by  the  hand  of  God.  They  would  need  to  be  so  but  for  a  briet 
space.  For  as  the  sequel  of  the  verse  (16)  points  out,  the  waters  that 
came  down  towards  the  sea  of  the  plain  failed;  /.*.,  they  flowed 
rapidly  off  down  the  steeply-sloping  bed  of  the  river,  and  the  whole 
channel  above  and  before,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  lay  dry 
before  the  people.  The  whole  multitude  could  therefore  "  haste  and 
pass  over  "  at  once.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  gathers  some  particulars  respecting  the  Jordan, 
which  help  us  to  understand  how  the  waters  could  accumulate  behind 
a  dam  for  some  hours.  *  Between  the  Sea  of  Galilee  and  the  Dead 
Sea,  a  distance  of  sixty-six  miles,  the  channel  is  a  chasm  called  the 
Ghor,  from  one  to  twelve  miles  broad ;  in  some  parts  fertile  in  the 
extreme,  in  others  utterly  barren ;  the  mountains  of  Palestine  bound- 
ing it  on  the  west,  the  great  eastern  plateau  on  the  other  side. 
Within  this  strange  bed  the  river  descends  with  innumerable  wind- 
ings, through  a  lower  valley  which  it  has  worn  to  a  depth  of  from 
forty  to  a  hundred  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Ghor ;  its  sides  deeply 
fringed  with  a  tropical  jungle — known  in  Scripture  as  the  "  pride  "  or 
"  swelling  of  the  Jordan,"  and  in  former  times  the  special  haunt  of 
lions.  So  tortuous  is  its  course,  that  in  the  sixty-six  miles  between 
the  Sea  of  Galilee  and  the  Dead  Sea  in  a  direct  line,  i:  darts  at  so 
many  angles  over  its  rough  bed  as  to  make  its  whole  length  nearly 
200  miles,  and  in  this  distance  it  leaps  and  rushes  over  twenty-seven 
rapids,  including  in  all  a  descent  of  606  feet  The  Jordan  shows  in 
its  channel  four  broad  regions,  connected  by  two  narrow  ones,  with  a 


448      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

marshy  lake  and  valley,  highest  of  all ;  suggestive  of  a  former  chain 
of  great  lakes  connected  by  a  river,  but  now  gradually  drained  off  till 
three  small  sheets  of  water  alone  remain,  with  the  broad  dry  beds  of 
two  others.'  It  is  evident  that  such  lake  spaces  might  have  been 
refilled  with  the  waters  that  were  dammed  back.  Dr.  Geikie  points 
out  that  '  The  people  could  cross  along  a  great  breadth  of  front,  which 
would  immensely  facilitate  the  passage.'  And  Jamieson  says,  '  The 
river  was  thus  dried  up  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.'  Dean  Stanley 
describes  thus :  *  The  scene  presented  is,  of  the  whole  bed  of  the 
river  left  dry  from  north  to  south,  through  its  long  windings;  the 
huge  stones  lying  bare  here  and  there,  imbedded  in  the  soft  bottom  ; 
or  the  shingly  pebbles  drifted  along  the  course  of  the  channel. ' 

A  note  in  the  new  issue  of  the  Biblical  Treasury  contains  all  that 
can  be  wisely  said  on  the  matter.  *  It  is  not  unreasonable  that  we 
should  think  of  such  a  miraculous  result  being  produced  by  the 
ruling  and  overruling  of  the  natural  agencies  which  God  holds  within 
His  control.  We  may  reverently  inquire  what  natural  agencies  could 
conceivably  have  been  employed.  Evidently  the  cause  of  the 
stoppage  of  the  stream  was  found  some  thirty  miles  (or  less)  above 
the  place  where  Israel  crossed.  It  is  at  least  possible  that,  by  an 
earthquake,  the  river  bed  was  so  obstructed  that  the  waters  were 
dammed  back  into  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  which  might  rise  for  hours 
before  the  obstacle  could  be  overcome,  and  the  waters  again  flow 
down  to  the  Dead  Sea.  God  usually  works  His  mighty  works 
through  the  agency  of  the  forces  which  He  has  created,  and  all 
natural  forces  are  in  His  hands.' 


The  Ascension  of  Elijah. 

2  KINGS  ii.  ii  :  '  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  still  went  on,  and  talked,  that, 
behold,  there  appeared  a  chariot  of  fire,  and  horses  of  fire,  which  parted  them 
both  asunder  ;  and  Elijah  went  up  by  a  whirlwind  into  heaven.' 

Difficulty. — There  is  a  strange  blending  of  the  natural  and  the 
supernatural  in  this  narrative^  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  see  the 
mission  of  the  whirlwind  when  Elijah  was  carried  away  by  horses  and 
•chariots  of  fire. 

Explanation. — Much  depends  on  the  source  whence  our  infor- 
mation has  come.  It  seems  certain  that  Elisha  is  the  author ;  he 
must  have  been  in  a  most  excited  state  of  mind  that  day,  just  in  the 
mood  to  see  visions  ;  and  it  would  be  quite  in  accordance  with  the 
ways  of  later  editors,  to  embellish  and  adorn  so  striking  an  account 
as  Elisha  must  have  given. 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  ELIJAH.  449 

A  remarkable  instance  of  the  tendency  to  gather  astonishing 
things  round  the  stories  of  departures  and  martyrdoms  is  found  in 
connection  with  the  *  passing'  of  Polycarp.  One  of  the  legends 
woven  around  his  story,  after  describing  how  the  officers  came  to  nail 
him,  as  usual,  to  the  stake,  but  he  begged  them  not  to  do  so,  saying 
that  He  who  gave  him  strength  to  endure  the  fire,  would  enable  him 
without  nailing  to  stand  immoveable  in  the  hottest  flames,  adds  this : 
1  Clasping  his  hands,  which  were  bound  behind  him,  he  then  poured 
out  his  soul  in  prayer ;  and  as  the  fire  increased  to  a  mighty  flame, 
behold,  a  wonder ;  the  flames  disposing  themselves  into  the  resem- 
blance of  an  arch,  like  the  sails  of  a  ship,  swelled  with  the  wind, 
gently  circled  the  body  of  the  martyr,  who  stood  all  the  while  in  the 
midst,  like  gold  or  silver  purified  in  the  furnace ;  his  body  sending 
forth  a  delightful  fragrancy,  which,  like  frankincense  or  other  costly 
spices,  presented  itself  to  our  senses.' 

In  an  endeavour  to  understand  the  actual  facts  that  occurred  in 
connection  with  the  removal  of  Elijah,  we  should  keep  in  mind  that 
flesh  and  blood  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  corruption 
cannot  inherit  incorruption.  Somehow  we  must  all  be  changed  ;  the 
mortal  must  put  on  immortality,  the  natural  body  must  become  a 
spiritual  body.  Elijah's  mortal  body  was  not  borne  up  into  the  place 
where  God  was.  It  was  Elijah  himself,  not  Elijah's  body  that  went  up  to 
heaven.  There  must  have  been  the  removal  of  the  mortal  body,  and 
this  may  have  been  accomplished  by  its  being  changed  into  a  spiritual 
body  as  it  went  up,  or  the  whirlwind  may  have  carried  the  body  away 
to  some  unknown  place  of  earth,  and  the  freed  spirit  ascended  to 
God.  Which  of  these  represents  the  actual  facts  we  are  not  told. 

The  similarity  between  the  mode  of  his  departure  and  the  charac- 
teristic features  of  his  movements  while  he  lived  should  be  noticed. 
He  was  always  suddenly  coming  and  going.  It  was  no  new  thing  for 
him  to  be  carried  away  of  the  spirit. 

And  the  natural  feature  of  his  removal  especially  struck  the  young 
prophets  who  were  watching.  They  credited  the  whirlwind  with  his 
departure,  and  so  expected  to  find  the  dropped  body  of  the  prophet 
when  the  whirlwind  failed 

It  may  be  added,  that  it  is  easy  enough  for  a  poetic  nature  to 
fashion  the  attendant  circumstances  of  such  a  storm  into  the  shapings 
of  chariots  and  horses  of  fire. 

The  facts  of  which  we  may  be  sure  are,  that  an  actual  whirlwind 
caught  the  prophet  and  swept  him  away  into  the  sky ;  that  the  atmo- 
sphere was  so  filled  with  strange  light  and  cloud  that  it  seemed  to  the 
watcher  as  if  he  was  enwrapped  with  fire  as  he  went  up ;  and  that  this 

29 


450      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

1  passing '  proved  to  be  the  prophet's  departure  from  earth,  for  his  body 
was  never  found.  He  was  gone  altogether,  body  and  soul 

We  may  helpfully  set  together  some  of  the  explanations  of  the 
scene  given  by  good  Biblical  writers  of  various  schools. 

Kitto  says  :  '  As  they  went  on,  conversing  of  high  things,  suddenly 
a  whirlwind  reft  Elijah  from  his  companion,  and  he  was  borne  aloft 
like  an  exhalation,  in  a  chariot  with  horses  of  fire,  or  glowing  like 
fire,  to  heaven.  This  is  a  strange  transaction ;  it  seems  to  us,  how- 
ever, that  it  is  but  an  isolated  anticipation  of  that  which  shall  happen 
collectively  to  the  righteous  that  are  alive  on  the  earth  at  our  Lord's 
second  coming.  Then  what  hinders  that  this  rapture  of  the  living, 
and  change  in  the  act  of  rapture — change  because  flesh  and  blood 
cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God — should  be  exemplified  in  one  or 
two  instances  before,  in  this  instance  of  Elijah,  and  in  the  earlier 
instance  of  Enoch  ?  Under  this  view,  there  is  no  more  any  objection 
to  the  departed  Elijah  having  his  place  in  heaven,  seeing  that  his 
body  must  have  undergone  all  that  change  which  was  needful  to  fit 
it  for  abiding  in  that  place  where  nothing  corruptible  can  exist.  Not 
discerning  this,  the  old  schoolmen  were  of  opinion  that  Elijah  was 
taken  to  some  place — doubtless  a  pleasant  place — prepared  of  old, 
as  they  supposed,  for  those  pious  spirits  which  awaited  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah,  who  should  open  paradise  for  them.' 

Dean  Stanley  dwells  strongly  on  the  natural  features  of  the  incident 
He  says :  *  Then  came  a  furious  storm.  "  And  Elijah  went  up  in 
the  tempest  into  heaven."  In  this  inextricable  interweaving  of  fact 
and  figure,  it  is  enough  to  mark  how  fitly  such  an  act  closes  such  a 
life.  "  My  father,  my  father,"  Elisha  cried,  "  the  chariot  of  Israel 
and  the  horsemen  thereof."  So  Elijah  had  stood  a  sure  defence  to 
his  country  against  all  the  chariots  and  horsemen  that  were  ever 
pouring  in  upon  them  from  the  surrounding  nations.  So  he  now 
seemed,  when  he  passed  away,  lost  in  the  flames  of  the  steeds  and 
the  car  that  swept  him  from  the  earth,  as  in  the  fire  of  his  own  un- 
quenchable spirit — in  the  fire  which  had  thrice  blazed  around  him  in 
his  passage  through  his  troubled  earthly  career.' 

The  Speakers  Commentary  says  of  the  '  chariot  of  fire  and  horses 
of  fire,'  this  was  the  appearance  which  now  presented  itself  to  the 
eyes  of  Elisha.  There  is  no  mention  of  a  whirlwind,  but  only  of  a 
storm ;  and  the  word  translated  *  heaven '  is  properly  the  visible 
firmament  or  sky.  No  honest  exegesis  can  explain  this  passage  in 
any  other  sense  than  as  teaching  the  translation  of  Elijah,  who  was 
taken  from  the  earth,  like  Enoch,  without  dying. 

Dr.  A.  Barry  says  :  '  Elijah  went  up  in  the  storm  heavenward,  or, 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  ELIJAH.  45 1 

perhaps,  into  the  air.  SSarah,  properly,  storm  blast;  and  so  storm, 
thunderstorm.  The  Hebrew  mind  recognised  the  presence  and 
working  of  Jehovah  in  the  terrific  phenomena  of  nature ;  the  thunder* 
cloud  or  storm-wind  was  His  chariot,  the  thunder  His  voice,  the 
lightning  His  arrow.  We  must  therefore  be  cautious  of  taking  the 
words  before  us  in  too  literal  a  sense.  The  essential  meaning  of  the 
passage  is  this,  that  God  suddenly  took  Elijah  to  Himself,  amid  a 
grand  display  of  His  power  in  and  through  the  forces  of  nature.  The 
popular  conception,  which  we  see  embodied  in  such  pictures  as 
William  Blake's  Translation  of  Elijah,  that  the  prophet  ascended  to 
heaven  in  a  fiery  car  drawn  by  horses  of  fire,  is  plainly  read  into, 
rather  than  gathered  from,  the  sacred  text.' 

Jamieson,  in  the  Critical  Commentary,  understands  the  chariots 
and  horses  of  fire  to  be  '  some  bright  effulgence,  which,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  spectators,  resembled  those  objects.  There  was  a  tempest  or 
storm,  wind  accompanied  with  vivid  flashes  of  fire.' 

Dr.  H.  Allon,  in  Bible  Educator,  says:  *  Objections  have  been 
made  to  this  part  of  the  narrative  as  being  an  inextricable  interweav- 
ing of  fact  and  figure.  No  doubt  both  are  here,  and  both  are  to  be 
recognised.  The  essential  fact  is  that  Elijah  was  translated  without 
dying.  Not  only  does  the  credibility  of  the  history  demand  this,  but 
the  entire  Biblical  conception  requires  it  also.  No  doubt,  the  mannei 
of  his  translation  is  figuratively  represented ;  all  that  the  description 
necessarily  means  is,  that  he  was  caught  away  as  in  a  fiery  storm- 
cloud — poetically,  God's  "  chariot  and  horses  of  fire ;"  "  as  a  fire  " 
Elijah  "  brake  forth ;"  in  a  fiery  storm-cloud  he  was  taken  away ;  the 
prophet  of  fire  to  the  end.' 

Moses  smiting  the  Rock. 

NUMBERS  xx.  n  :  'And  Moses  lifted  up  his  hand,  and  smote  the  rock  with  his 
rod  twice  ;  and  water  came  forth  abundantly,  and  the  congregation  drank,  and 
their  cattle  '  (Rev.  Ver. :  see  also  Exodus  xvii.  6). 

Difficulty. — No  known  natural  agency  will  account  for  the  result 
following  upon  this  smiting  of  the  rock.  No  incident  in  the  life  oj 
Moses  seems  so  strictly  miraculous,  so  directly  a  Divine  intervention, 
distinct  from  and  beyond  human  experience,  as  this  is. 

Explanation.— All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  water  filters  through 
the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  and  is  stored  in  basins  in  the  mountains, 
so  that  if  properly  pierced  an  abundant  supply  of  water  can  often  be 
secured.  No  doubt,  under  Divine  direction,  Moses  struck  the  rock, 
on  both  occasions,  at  spots  where  there  were  such  secret  stores  of 

29 — 2 


45*      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

water.  But  this  in  no  way  explains  the  connection  between  the 
smiting  of  the  rock  with  a  simple  rod  or  staff,  and  the  gushing  forth 
of  the  water. 

We  must,  however,  be  careful  not  to  make  the  Scriptures  say  more 
than  they  really  do.  It  is  very  easy  to  assume  that  Moses  struck 
the  rock,  and  just  at  the  place  where  he  struck  it  the  water  gushed 
forth.  But  a  little  consideration  will  show  that  this  is  certainly  not 
stated,  nor  is  it  essential  to  the  understanding  of  the  narrative.  The 
water  stored  in  the  recesses  of  the  hill  forced  its  way  out  in  response 
to  the  smite  of  Moses  and  the  controlling  power  of  God,  but  it 
forced  its  way  through  the  ordinary  rock  fissures,  and  became  a 
flowing  stream,  from  which  the  people  could  take  supplies. 

Nothing  can  remove  the  miraculous  element  from  this  case. 
Otherwise  than  man  has  any  experience,  God  made  the  waters  act  in 
response  to  an  appointed  sign.  The  most  careful  and  reverent 
limitation  of  the  miraculous  features  still  leaves  us  face  to  face  with 
a  direct  Divine  intervention — God  working  in  other  than  His  ordinary 
ways. 

An  extraordinary  passage  from  Fraas,  the  geologist,  is  interesting, 
but  must  be  wisely  criticised  :  *  A  sharp  eye  sees  at  the  foot  of 
Horeb,  at  a  moderate  height  above  the,  valley,  on  the  smooth  bare 
wall  of  rock,  a  number  of  green  spots,  some  higher  than  others.' 
Climbing  to  one,  Fraas  found  '  a  granite  wall  rose  perpendicularly 
from  the  debris  below.  A  fig-tree  at  its  foot  is  first  seen,  but  as  one 
approaches,  shrubs  and  verdure  show  themselves,  quickened  by  a 
small  basin  of  water  fed  from  a  spring  close  at  hand.  This  runs  from 
the  smooth  face  of  the  rock,  about  breast  high,  with  the  fulness  of  a 
good  sized  well-pipe.  But,  on  looking  more  closely,  the  opening 
through  which  it  burst  out  proved  to  be  artificial.  No  traces  can  be 
seen  of  water  elsewhere  in  the  mountain  wall,  to  betray  the  presence 
of  a  spring  thus  previously  hidden  behind  the  granite.  On  the  whole 
face  of  the  rock,  in  its  height  of  forty  feet,  only  crystals  of  felspar 
glitter,  showing  no  indications  of  water  behind.  The  spring  has 
been  struck  out  of  the  rock  by  a  human  hand ;  a  circumstance  which 
reminds  a  geologist  acquainted  with  the  Bible,  of  Moses,  the  great 
student  of  the  hills  and  of  men,  who  struck  a  rock  on  Horeb,  and 
the  water  flowed  from  it.' 


^EXPECTED   WATER  IN  WAD  Y  EL  AHSA.     453 
Unexpected  Water  in  Wady  el  Ahsa. 

2  KINGS  iii.  20  :  *  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  morning,  about  the  time  of 
offering  the  oblations,  that,  behold,  there  came  water  by  the  way  of  Edom,  and 
the  country  was  filled  with  water.' 

Question. — If  the  Israelites  took  up  the  idea  that  a  miracle  was 
wrought  for  them,  are  we  not  at  liberty  to  recognise  the  ordinary  and 
natural  agencies  through  which  the  water  was  provided  1 

Answer. — This  is  a  case  in  which,  almost  universally,  the 
*  Providential '  is  recognised  rather  than  the  miraculous.  Josephus 
explains  that  a  storm  had  burst  on  the  hills  at  a  distance  of  three 
days'  march.  Kiel  says :  '  Far  from  the  Israelitish  camp,  in  the 
Eastern  mountains  of  Edom,  a  great  fall  of  rain — a  kind  of  cloud- 
burst— took  place,  by  which  the  wady  was  at  once  filled,  without 
their  either  seeing  the  wind  or  the  rains.  The  Divine  interposition 
was  seen  by  introducing  the  laws  of  nature  to  the  determined  end  in 
the  pre-determined  way.'  Ball,  in  Ellicotfs  Commentary  says  :  '  It 
would  seem  that  a  sudden  storm  of  rain  had  fallen  on  the  mountains 
of  Seir,  at  some  distance  from  the  camp ;  and  the  water  found  its 
natural  outlet  in  the  dry  wady.  Reuss  thinks  this  explanation 
"  superfluous,"  in  the  face  of  the  "  author's  intention  to  describe 
a  miracle  /'  but  there  are  different  kinds  of  miracle,  and,  in  the 
present  instance,  the  miraculous  element  is  visible  in  the  prophet's 
prediction  of  the  coming  help,  and  in  the  coincidence  of  the  natural 
phenomena  with  the  needs  of  the  Israelites.' 

As  the  incident  is  a  somewhat  unfamiliar  one,  it  may  be  well  to 
give  Dr.  C.  GeikiJs  vivid  sketch,  which  follows  the  line  of  sugges- 
tions given  by  Kitto :  c  The  united  armies  advanced  towards  Moab, 
by  the  southern  route,  to  meet  the  contingent  from  Edom,  and  to 
pass  along  the  edge  of  its  territory  round  the  south  end  of  the 
Dead  Sea.  Seven  days  of  painful  and  slow  stages  had  brought  them 
apparently  to  the  Wady  el  Ahsa,  the  brook  Zered  of  the  wilderness 
life,  marking  the  boundary  between  Edom  and  Moab.  Usually 
retaining  some  water  even  in  the  heat  of  summer,  it  was  now  dry, 
and  the  army  and  its  cattle  were  alike  suffering  from  thirst.  Mean- 
while, Mesha  had  gathered  all  the  strength  of  Moab,  from  the 
youngest  able  to  bear  the  sword-girdle,  and  was  close  at  hand.  In 
this  extremity  the  confederates  were  saved  by  the  prophetic  counsels 
of  Elisha,  who  had  accompanied  Joram  of  Samaria,  and  was  con- 
sulted by  Jehoshaphat.  By  his  directions  a  number  of  pits  were  dug 
in  the  bottom  of  the  wady,  where  they  found  themselves,  to  catch 
and  retain  the  water  which  he  told  them  would  presently  rush  down 


454      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

from  the  highlands  of  Moab;  though  they  should  see  neither 
wind  nor  rain,  the  storm  breaking  at  too  great  a  distance.  Nor 
were  they  disappointed,  for  through  the  night  the  prediction  was 
fulfilled. 

*  When  the  sun  rose  suddenly,  as  it  does  in  the  East,  with  hardly 
any  twilight,  its  level  beams,  red  with  the  morning  mists,  revealed  no 
enemy  (to  the  Moabites),  but  shone  with  a  blood-red  glare  on  the 
line  of  pools  in  the  wady,  dug  on  the  preceding  evening.  No  water 
having  existed  there  before,  the  appearance  was  inexplicable,  except 
on  the  supposition  that  the  confederates  had  quarrelled,  and  had 
destroyed  each  other.'  In  great  confusion  the  Moabites  rushed  to 
sack  the  Israelite  camp,  and  found  a  vigorous  enemy.  They  were 
defeated,  and  their  country  overrun  and  ruined. 

Balaam's  Ass. 

NUMBERS  xxii.  28 :  'And  the  Lord  opened  the  mouth  of  the  ass,  and  she  said 
unto  Balaam,  What  have  I  done  unto  thee,  that  thou  hast  smitten  me  these 
three  times  ?' 

Difficulty. — Actual  speech  must  depend  on  the  possession  of  appro- 
priate organs  of  speech  ;  but  the  ass  is  not  provided  with  any  such. 
How,  theti,  are  we  to  understand  this  conversation  between  Balaam  and 
the  animal  t 

Explanation. — No  one  imagines  that  the  organs  of  the  animal 
produced  miraculously  an  articulate  sound.  There  was  no  occasion 
for  such  a  miracle.  All  the  necessities  of  the  case  are  met  by  under- 
standing that  Balaam  heard  a  sound  which  appeared  to  him  to  come 
from  the  animal.  Two  things  in  the  narrative  arrest  attention  :  (i) 
Balaam  expresses  no  sort  of  surprise  at  the  speaking  of  the  ass.  (2) 
His  two  servants  who  were  attending  on  him,  and  the  messengers  of 
Balak,  who  were  accompanying  him,  are  not  reported  to  have  shown 
any  concern  at  the  crushing  of  Balaam's  foot,  at  the  falling  of  the  ass 
and  consequent  peril  of  their  master,  or  at  the  extraordinary  circum- 
stance of  an  ass  holding  a  conversation. 

In  order  to  understand  the  scene,  it  is  above  all  things  important 
that  we  should  understand  the  man  who  was  principally  concerned 
in  it.  If  such  a  narrative  were  given  as  having  actually  occurred  to 
some  ordinary  man,  we  should  treat  as  strictly  historical,  however 
perplexing  its  details  might  seem  to  be.  But  the  Bible  story  is  an 
evident  blending  of  history  and  mystery,  and  it  stands  in  relation  to 
quite  an  extraordinary  man.  Whatever  view  we  take  of  Balaam— 
whether  we  regard  him  as  a  true  or  a  false  prophet — this  at  least  is 


BALAAM'S  ASS.  455 

quite  plain,  he  was  a  man  keenly  sensitive  to  unseen  influences,  subject 
to  trances,  visions,  secret  communications  with  what  we  may  call  the 
*  other,'  the  *  spiritual '  world.  And  at  this  time  it  is  quite  certain 
that  he  was  in  a  strangely  elevated  and  excited  frame  of  mind,  quickly 
sensitive  to  subtle  spiritual  influences. 

It  is  probably  true  that,  usually,  his  peculiar  gifts  and  conditions 
of  mind  were  made  to  serve  his  own  interests  and  to  uphold  idola- 
trous systems  ;  but  the  true  God  was  pleased  to  make  direct  communi- 
cations with  him  through  the  very  peculiarities  of  his  nature  and  gifts. 
This  sorcerer,  diviner,  necromancer,  found  the  true  God  actually 
dealing  with  him  in  the  line  of  his  divining  and  auguring. 

Keeping  this  in  mind,  we  may  find  the  best  explanation  of  the 
difficulties  of  this  narrative,  by  assuming  that  the  incidents,  and  the 
voices,  and  the  sights  were  quite  real  to  Balaam,  but  were  real  only 
to  him  ;  he  saw  them  and  heard  them,  but  nobody  else  did  ;  and  they 
did  not,  as  we  are  pleased  to  call  it,  actually  occur.  They  were  a 
prophet's  vision,  and  most  real  to  him.  Through  them  the  Divine 
communication  was  made  to  him. 

So  purely  incidental  and  illustrative  a  reference  to  Balaam  as  is 
found  in  2  Peter  ii.  16  cannot,  of  course,  be  used  as  any  proof  of 
the  literal  and  historical  character  of  the  ass's  speaking.  However 
the  narrative  is  treated,  whether  as  descriptive  or  as  part  of  a  vision, 
it  is  equally  true  that  the  ass  rebuked  the  prophet. 

KittO)  preferring  a  literal  interpretation,  nevertheless  makes  a 
curious  distinction.  If  the  ass  could  miraculously  speak,  it  must 
have  been  made  miraculously  to  understand ;  but  Kitto  hesitates  to 
accept  this.  He  says :  *  We  do  not  suppose  that  the  ass  thought  or 
reasoned,  though  there  is  perhaps  nothing  beyond  the  sense  or  com- 
prehension of  an  ass  in  the  words  which  were  uttered ;  nor  that  the 
animal  had  any  intention  or  volition  in  the  utterance  of  these  words. 
Words  appropriate  to  the  rebuking  of  the  prophet  were  made  to  flow 
from  the  mouth  of  the  ass,  without  any  intention  or  consciousness  on 
the  part  of  the  poor  beast.' 

The  Speakers  Commentary  gives  an  explanation  which  endeavours 
to  preserve  somewhat  of  the  historical  character  of  the  narrative : 
'The  account  of  this  occurrence  can  hardly  have  come  from  anyone  else 
than  Balaam  himself ....  That  which  is  here  recorded  was  apparently 
perceived  by  him  alone  among  human  witnesses  ....  The  cries  of 
the  ass  would  seem  to  have  been  significant  to  Balaam's  mind  only- 
God  may  have  brought  it  about  that  sounds  uttered  by  the  creature 
after  its  kind  became  to  the  prophet's  intelligence  as  though  it 
addressed  him  in  rational  speech.  Indeed,  to  an  augur,  priding  him- 


456      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

self  on  his  skill  in  interpreting  the  cries  and  movements  of  animals, 
no  more  startling  warning  could  be  given  than  one  so  real  as  this,  yet 
conveyed  through  the  medium  of  his  own  art ;  and  to  a  seer  pretend- 
ing to  superhuman  wisdom  no  more  humiliating  rebuke  can  be 
imagined  than  to  teach  him  by  the  mouth  of  his  own  ass. 

'  On  the  other  hand,  the  opinion  that  the  ass  actually  uttered  with 
the  mouth  articulate  words  of  human  speech,  or  even  that  the  utter- 
ance of  the  ass  was  so  formed  in  the  air  as  to  fall  with  the  accents  of 
a  man's  voice  on  Balaam's  ears,  seems  irreconcilable  with  Balaam's 
behaviour.  Balaam  was  indeed  labouring  under  derangement,  in- 
duced by  his  indulgence  of  avarice  and  ambition,  and  this,  too, 
aggravated  at  the  moment  by  furious  anger;  yet  it  seems  scarcely 
conceivable  that  he  could  actually  have  heard  human  speech  from 
the  mouth  of  his  own  ass,  and  even  go  on,  as  narrated  in  verses  29 
and  30,  to  hold  a  dialogue  with  her,  and  show  no  signs  of  dismay 
and  astonishment.' 

What  may  be  called  the  purely  subjective  explanation  is  best  given 
by  Archdeacon  Farrar,  in  the  Expositor,  May,  1875  :  *  Now  I  hardly 
hesitate  to  say  that  the  entire  circumstances  and  context  of  the  narra- 
tive show  that  the  Semitic  writer  neither  did  attach,  nor  could  have 
attached,  any  importance  to  what  may  be  called  the  outward 
machinery  of  his  story,  and  that  he  is  intent,  not  on  describing  a 
marvel,  but  on  teaching  a  lesson.  And  if  so — if,  writing  in  the 
ordinary  and  perfectly  familiar  Semitic  style,  which  as  much  as 
possible  throws  every  image  into  the  concrete,  and  every  lesson  into 
allegory  or  narration  ;  if,  accustomed  by  his  Semitic  habits  of  thought 
to  see  and  recognise  but  little  distinction  between  the  Providential 
and  the  miraculous ;  if,  being  perfectly  familiar  with  the  talking  trees 
and  animals  which  have  always  entered  into  Oriental  parables  — he 
wished  to  convey  the  story  of  an  awakening  conscience — the  inci- 
dents which  reveal  to  an  erring  soul  that  its  ways  are  not  pleasing  to  the 
Lord — the  omen  which  should  bring  home  to  it  the  awful  conviction 
that  even  the  unintelligent  creation  around  it  seems  more  conscious 
of,  more  sensitive  to,  God's  presence  and  to  the  majesty  of  God's 
offended  law  than  itself — then  I  maintain  that  it  would  have  beer, 
impossible  for  him  in  a  manner  more  startling  from  the  very  simplicity 
— to  show  how  it  came  home  to  Balaam's  heart  that  there  was  an 
awful  meaning  in  what  occurred,  how  conscience  re-asserted  its 
majesty,  how  he  became  aware  that  an  angel  of  opposing  mercy  stood 
right  in  his  path,  to  warn,  to  punish,  haply  even  to  save  him  ere  it 
was  too  late.  A  spirit  is  before  him.  He  can  distinguish  the  very 
waving  of  his  apparel ;  he  can  no  longer  mistake  the  flash  of  his 


SALAAM'S  ASS.  457 

sword  for  the  hot  sunshine  that  streams  through  the  leaves  of  the 
vines.  His  eyes  are  opened  with  that  great  glare  of  unnatural  illu- 
mination which  so  often  follows  the  commission  of  a  great  act  of  sin. 
His  soul  is  frozen  and  stunned  as  it  realizes  the  dread  of  an  aveng- 
ing presence.  .  .  .  From  the  earliest  days  of  belief  there  is  abundant 
evidence  that  many  great  and  holy  minds  have  seen  in  this  portion 
of  the  story  a  vision  or  a  philosopheme.  But  to  say  that  the  ass 
spoke  to  Balaam  only  in  a  vision  is,  of  course,  the  same  thing  as 
saying  that  it  did  not  actually  speak  at  all.  It  is  to  give  to  the  story 
a  purely  subjective  turn.' 

The  following  remarks  by  the  P.ev.  J.  B.  Heard,  M.  A.  (in  Bib. 
Educator\  are  as  satisfactory  and  as  suggestive  as  anything  we  have 
met  with  on  this  subject :  '  The  most  striking  instance  of  the  action 
of  the  Divine  Spirit,  not  only  elevating  the  human  spirit,  but  actually 
guiding  it  and  carrying  it  whither  it  would  not,  is  the  case  of  Balaam. 
Balaam  not  only  utters  words  beyond  his  consciousness,  as  all  the 
holy  men  of  old  did ;  but  this  unholy  man,  probably  as  a  punish- 
ment for  his  taking  the  wages  of  iniquity,  is  made  to  utter  words 
against  his  will — he  is  made  to  bless  those  whom  he  was  bribed  to 
curse,  and  to  curse  those  whom  he  wanted  to  bless.  The  miracle  of 
the  dumb  ass  speaking  with  man's  voice  is  here  a  sign  of  what  the 
Divine  Spirit  can  do  when  the  human  spirit,  like  an  untuned  pipe, 
was  about  to  give  an  uncertain  sound.  The  dumb  ass  rebuked  the 
madness  of  the  prophet.  There  was  the  deepest  irony  in  this  sign 
from  heaven.  The  unmelodious  bray  of  the  ass  was  replaced  by  the 
utterance  of  articulate  sounds,  or  an  impression  equivalent  to  it,  pro- 
duced on  the  prophet's  mind,  teaching  him,  as  a  last  warning  on  his 
way  to  oppose  God's  will,  that  the  human  pneuma  is  only  the  pipe  of 
the  Divine  Pneuma,  and  that  so  mighty  and  powerful  is  that  wind  of 
God  that  it  can  breathe  through  the  most  reluctant  instruments. 
Balaam's  case  is  a  solemn  lesson  as  to  the  dependence  of  man  for 
inspiration  from  on  high.' 

The  Rabbinical  writers  have  given  a  very  extraordinary  account  of 
Balaam.  They  say  that  he  was  at  first  one  of  Pharaoh's  counsellors, 
and  that  he  was  the  father  of  Jannes  and  Jambres,  the  two  noted 
magicians  who  withstood  Moses  when  he  went  to  Pharaoh  to  demand 
the  release  of  Israel.  They  further  add,  that  Balaam  was  lame,  and 
afflicted  with  a  squint.  They  affirm,  too,  that  he  was  the  author  ot 
that  passage  in  the  Book  of  Numbers  which  gives  his  personal  history  ; 
and  that  Moses  merely  inserted  it  in  the  book,  as  he  did  other  docu- 
ments in  his  works,  without  making  himself  responsible  for  what  they 
contained. 


458      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Elisha's   Miracles. 

2  KINGS  ii.  19-21,  etc.  :  'And  the  men  of  the  city  said  unto  Elisha,  Behold, 
we  pray  thee,  the  situation  of  this  city  is  pleasant,  as  my  lord  seeth  :  but  the  water 
is  naught,  and  the  land  miscarrieth.  And  he  said,  Bring  me  a  new  cruse,  and 
put  salt  therein.  And  they  brought  it  to  him.  And  he  went  forth  unto  the 
spring  of  the  waters,  and  cast  salt  therein,  and  said,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  I  have 
healed  these  waters  ;  there  shall  not  be  from  thence  any  more  death  or  mis- 
carrying' (Rev.  Ver.\ 

Difficulty. — Two  features  of  Elisha's  miracles  set  them  in  striking 
contrast  with  the  miracles  oj  Elijah,  and  almost  tempt  us  to  say  that 
Elisha's  miracles  were  not  worth  working.  They  are,  the  purely  private 
and  localcharacterofmostofthe  miracles  ;  and  the  careful  way  in  which 
Elisha  used  material  agencies  in  working  the  miracles.  The  means  he 
used  were  '  suitable'  to  the  production  of  the  desired  result,  but  not  strong 
enough  for  the  effect  save  as  specially  used  by  God,  and  so  made  efficient. 

Explanation. — Every  man  must  be  seen  in  the  setting  of  his 
age  ;  and  every  man's  work  must  be  judged  in  the  light  of  the  senti- 
ments and  needs  of  the  people  among  whom  that  work  has  to  be  done. 
Elisha  was  the  successor  of  Elijah,  not  in  the  sense  of  continuing  his 
precise  work,  but  in  the  sense  of  following  it  up  by  a  detailed  applica- 
tion of  its  truths  and  principles  in  the  private  spheres  of  the  national 
life.  Elijah  publicly  asserts — and  wins  the  national  acceptance  of 
the  assertion — that  Jehovah  is  the  God  of  the  people.  Elisha  has  to 
illustrate  in  a  hundred  ways  that  Jehovah,  as  the  God  of  the  people, 
bears  direct  and  interested  relations  to  all  the  minutest  concerns  of 
their  personal,  family,  social,  city,  and  national  life.  If  this  account 
of  the  two  prophets  be  duly  pondered,  it  will  come  to  be  felt  that  the 
simplicity,  privacy,  and  even  what  we  incline  to  call  the  littleness,  of 
Elisha's  miracles  can  be  fully  justified  and  explained.  His  kind  of 
service  was  as  precise  an  adaptation  to  the  needs  of  his  time  as 
Elijah's  kind  of  service  was  to  his.  There  are  ages  when  what  has 
been  called  c  religion  in  common  life '  is  the  supreme  subject  of  a 
godly  ministry.  Such  ages  demand  the  teaching  of  duty  rather  than 
of  doctrine.  It  was  given  to  Elisha  to  show  '  God  in  common  life/ 
and  to  fix  associations  with  the  Divine  Being  in  connection  with  every 
form  of  human  relationship.  And  though  not  so  imposing  a  work  as 
Elijah's,  we  count  Elisha's  life-mission  to  have  been  at  least  as  noble. 

The  other  peculiarity  is  closely  allied  to  this  one.  If  Elisha  is  to 
show  God  in  common  life,  he  must  illustrate  how  God  sanctifies  the  use 
of  means,  and  is  always  the  power  that  makes  means  effective.  In  the 
case  of  Elisha  there  may  be  an  unusual  measure  of  the  Divine  power 
seen  working  through  the  means  to  secure  unusual  results,  but  there- 


ELISHA' S  MIRACLES.  459 

by  the  prophet  was  only  prominently  illustrating  that  it  is  God  who 
works,  in  the  ordinary  way,  through  all  means,  and  our  whole  life  is 
full  of  Him,  *  His  good  hand  is  ever  on  us  for  good.'  Elisha  was  a 
teacher,  by  illustrations  in  the  life-sphere,  of  the  truth  that  God  is  in 
everything. 

These  are  reasonable  solutions  of  the  difficulties  above  suggested, 
but  it  maybe  helpful  to  add  some  explanations  from  other  points  of  view. 

Dean  Stanley,  in  contrasting  Elijah  with  Elisha,  brings  to  light  the 
elements  of  greatness  in  Elisha.  'The  succession  was  close  and 
immediate ;  but  it  was  a  succession  not  of  likeness,  but  of  contrast. 
The  whole  appearance  of  Elisha  revealed  the  difference.  The  very 
children  laughed  when  they  saw  the  change.  .  .  .  His  life  was  not 
spent,  like  his  predecessor's,  in  unavailing  struggles,  but  in  widespread 
successes.  .  .  .  His  deeds  were  not  of  wild  terror,  but  of  gracious, 
soothing,  homely  beneficence,  bound  up  with  the  ordinary  tenor  of 
human  life.  At  his  house  by  Jericho  the  bitter  spring  is  sweetened  ; 
for  the  widow  of  one  of  the  prophets  the  oil  is  increased ;  even  the 
workmen  at  the  prophet's  huts  are  not  to  lose  the  axe-head  which  has 
fallen  through  the  thickets  of  the  Jordan  into  the  eddying  stream  ; 
the  young  prophets,  at  their  common  meal,  are  saved  from  the  deadly 
herbs  which  had  been  poured  from  the  blanket  of  one  of  them  into 
the  caldron ;  and  enjoyed  the  multiplied  provision  of  corn.  .  .  . 
His  life  and  miracles  are  not  Jewish,  but  Christian.  His  works  stand 
alone  in  the  Bible  in  their  likeness  to  the  acts  of  mediaeval  saints. 
There  alone  in  the  Sacred  History  the  gulf  between  Biblical  and 
Ecclesiastical  miracles  almost  disappears.  The  exception  proves  the 
general  rule  ;  still  it  is  but  just  to  notice  the  exception.  .  .  .  Elijah, 
and  those  who  are  as  Elijah  are  needed,  in  critical  and  momentous 
occasions,  to  "  prepare  the  way  for  the  Lord."  His  likeness  is  John 
the  Baptist ;  and  of  those  that  were  born  of  women  before  the  times 
of  Christendom  none  were  "greater  than  they."  But  Elisha,  and 
those  who  are  like  Elisha,  have  a  humbler,  and  yet  a  wider,  and 
therefore  a  holier  sphere :  for  their  works  are  not  the  works  of  the 
Baptist,  but  are  the  deeds,  if  not  of  Christ  Himself,  at  any  rate  of 
"  the  least  in  His  kingdom  " — the  gentle,  beneficent,  "  holy  man  of 
God,  who  passeth  by  us  continually."' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  shows  that  *  the  times  had  in  some  measure  changed 
when  Elisha  came  with  his  gentler  mission.  The  worship  of  Baal 
was  no  longer  in  exclusive  favour  at  court.  Joram,  Ahab's  son  and 
successor,  at  least  tolerated  that  of  Jehovah,  though  in  association 
with  the  calf-symbols  of  Bethel  and  Dan.  In  after-years,  under  the 
inspiration  of  Jezebel,  the  evil  genius  of  his  house,  he  was  to  restore 


460      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Baal-worship  to  its  old  pre-eminence ;  but,  for  the  time,  the  work  of 
Elijah  had  been  accomplished,  and  his  sternness  might  with  advantage 
be  laid  aside.  The  thunders  and  lightnings  of  Horeb  had  done 
their  part;  men  could  now  listen  to  the  "still  small  voice."  .  .  . 
While  few  of  the  acts  of  Elisha  are  mentioned,  he  is  noted  for  the 
number  of  his  miracles.  Was  it  because  the  power  and  goodness  of 
Tehovah  needed  to  be  specially  impressed  on  a  people  prone  to 
apostatize,  and  tempted  to  do  so  by  the  rival  wonders  of  the  priests 
of  Baal  ?  .  .  .  The  wonders  recorded  of  Elisha  are  a  testimony  to 
his  gentle  and  loving  nature.' 

Ewald  says  :  '  This  prophet  is  the  subject  of  a  number  of  narratives 
in  the  present  Book  of  Kings,  which  not  only  cursorily  mention  him  in 
connection  with  a  larger  circle  of  events,  but  revolve  solely  round  the 
illustration  of  his  wonderful  career.  Although  in  the  last  resort  derived 
from  various  older  and  more  recent  sources,  they  constitute  in  every  re- 
spect an  unmistakable  unity,  and  must  have  been  recorded  in  a  special 
work  before  they  were  incorporated  in  the  present  Book  of  Kings. 
They  all  possess  a  certain  resemblance  in  so  far  as  they  only  bring 
into  prominence  the  recollections  of  Elisha's  miracles.  The  province 
of  religion  is  always  the  province  of  miracles  also,  because  it  is  that 
of  pure  and  strong  faith  in  the  presence  and  operation  of  heavenly 
forces  actively  as  well  as  passively ;  where,  therefore,  true  religion 
makes  the  most  powerful  effects,  there  will  be  a  corresponding  display 
of  miracles  which  will  either  actually  take  place  through  the  activity 
of  the  believing  spirit,  or  will  be  at  any  rate  experienced  by  the  be- 
lieving heart ;  while  to  be  vividly  penetrated,  though  only  from  a 
distance,  with  the  might  of  such  forces,  is  in  itself  a  gain.  Thus  far 
the  age  of  Elijah  and  Elisha,  when  the  true  religion  was  obliged  to 
maintain  itself  with  the  utmost  force  against  its  internal  enemies,  was 
as  rich  in  miracles  as  the  days  of  Moses  and  Joshua  or  the  conclusion 
of  the  period  of  the  Judges  had  been ;  only  these  miracles  do  not 
now,  as  in  the  time  of  Moses  and  Joshua,  affect  the  whole  nation,  nor 
as  in  the  era  of  the  last  Judges  are  they  directed  against  a  foreign 
people,  but  they  proceed  from  a  few  individual  prophets  who  are 
compelled  as  instruments  of  the  ancient  religion  to  exert  all  the 
greater  power,  as  in  the  nation  itself  the  true  faith  theatens  to  dis- 
appear. No  such  stories  can  be  anything  more  than  scattered  traces 
of  the  action  of  a  spirit  in  itself  miraculous,  and  of  the  impression 
immediately  produced  by  it ;  but  that  there  is  some  spirit  of  power 
in  religion  to  the  agency  of  which  they  all  point  is  only  the  more 
certain.' 


THE  BUDDING  OF  AARON'S  ROD.  461 

The  Budding  of  Aaron's  Rod. 

NUMBERS  xvii.  8  :  '  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  morrow,  that  Moses  went 
into  the  tent  of  the  testimony ;  and,  behold,  the  rod  of  Aaron  for  the  house  of 
Levi  was  budded,  and  put  forth  buds,  and  bloomed  blossoms,  and  bare  ripe 
almonds'  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Question. — Does  this  incident  show  us  how  miracle  may  be  em- 
ployed to  give  Divine  testimony  to  an  individual?  Does  it  illustrate  the 
use  of  miracle  as  evidence  ? 

Answer. — Illustrating  what  he  calls  the  *  general  economy  of 
miracles,'  Thomson  remarks  on  the  selection  of  rods  from  the  almond- 
tree,  which  hastens  to  bud  and  blossom  long  before  any  other  tree 
has  begun  to  wake  out  of  the  repose  of  winter,  and  before  it  has 
put  forth  its  own  leaves.  In  this  case,  indeed,  there  was  miraculous 
rapidity;  but  not  only  do  the  blossoms  of  the  almond  appear  on  it 
suddenly,  but  the  fruit  sets  at  once,  and  appears  even  while  the  flowers 
are  yet  on  the  tree — buds,  blossoms,  and  almonds  together  on  the 
same  branch  as  on  this  rod  of  Moses. 

It  is  evident  that  this  trial  partakes  of  the  character  of  trial  by  lot. 
Declaration  of  the  Divine  will  through  the  word  of  Moses  did  not 
satisfy  certain  ambitious  folk,  and  questionings  and  murmurings 
arose.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  that,  in  some  open  and  public 
way  and  by  some  manifest  sign,  the  will  of  God  should  be  made 
known.  The  miracle  was,  therefore,  distinctly  wrought  as  a  con- 
firmation of  the  authority  of  Moses.  It  was  a  kind  of  appeal  from 
the  assertion  of  Moses  to  the  direct  mind  of  God — an  appeal  which 
He  was  graciously  pleased  to  respond  to. 

Miracles  may  be  wrought  to  attest  a  person  or  to  confirm  a  truth. 
This  accomplished  both  objects;  it  declared  Moses  to  be  God's  agent, 
and  it  confirmed  the  truth  of  that  particular  message  which  he  had 
delivered  in  the  matter  of  the  priesthood. 

F.  Myers,  M.A.^  wisely  says  on  the  question  above  suggested  : 
4  And  let  it  be  noted  that  the  working  of  miracles,  wherever  it  might 
be  most  fully  admitted,  did  not  on  Biblical  principles  prove  anything 
more  with  regard  to  the  person  so  working  them  than  that  he  had  a 
general  mission  from  God  as  a  prophet;  and  also  that  the  working  of 
miracles  was  not  a  necessary  token  of  the  prophet's  mission.  Moses 
and  Aaron,  Elijah  and  Elisha,  worked  miracles,  and  were  still  but 
men  of  like  passions  and  infirmity  with  others ;  while  the  great  body 
of  the  Old  Testament  prophets  wrought  no  miracles  that  we  know 
of ;  nor  did  he  who  was  the  greatest  of  these  in  some  respects,  the 
immediate  herald  of  the  Messiah.  The  truth  concerning  this  matter 


462      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

probably  is,  that  miracles  are  most  duly  thought  of  when  they  are 
considered  as  a  peculiar  class  of  facts  intended  to  awaken  men  to  a 
perception  of,  and  attention  to,  God's  immediate  presence — as  hints, 
excitements,  suggestions,  rather  than  as  evidences.  Indeed,  no 
amount  or  frequency  of  exhibitions  of  physical  power  can  of  itself 
prove  anything  as  to  either  the  truth  or  worth  of  any  proposition. 
There  is  no  kind  of  logical  or  moral  consequence  in  saying  that  one 
who  is  extraordinarily  powerful  must,  therefore,  be  extraordinarily 
good  ....  The  faith  produced  by  miracles  is  rather  a  subjugation 
of  the  senses  than  an  affiance  of  the  heart — a  belief  after  seeing, 
instead  of  trust  before  sight ;  and  were  this  to  be  most  highly  prized, 
the  blessing  of  Christ  would  be  reversed.' 

Hezekiah's  Cure. 

2  KINGS  xx.  7 :  •  And  Isaiah  said,  Take  a  cake  of  figs.  And  they  took  and 
laid  it  on  the  boil,  and  he  recovered  '  (Rev.  Ver.\ 

Question. — Are  we  to  regard  the  plaster  of  figs  as  an  efficient 
remedy,  or  as  a  material  sign^  helping  belief  in  the  Divine  and 
miraculous  healing  ? 

Answer. — There  is  no  intimation  in  the  narrative  that  the 
recovery  took  a  miraculous  character.  That  is  an  inference  which 
the  reader  may  make,  if  he  thinks  there  are  sufficient  grounds  for  it ; 
but  it  is  necessary  to  show  extreme  care  in  distinguishing  between 
what  the  Scriptures  assert,  and  what  men  infer  from  that  which  is 
found  in  Scripture.  The  Divine  inspiration  does  not  include  and 
guarantee  men's  inferences.  What  is  most  certainly  declared  in  the 
record,  is  God's  direct  intervention  to  guide  the  progress  of  the 
disease,  and  to  bless  the  remedial  agencies  employed ;  but  if  terms 
are  used  with  precision,  this  should  be  called  '  Providential,'  and  not 
•'  miraculous.' 

At  the  same  time  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  the  infer- 
•ence  that  the  plaster  of  figs  was  only  a  visible  sign  of  a  supernatural 
work  of  healing.  And  the  chief  thing  to  be  said  is,  that  it  was  in 
harmony  with  Divine  dealing  thus  to  help  faith  by  outward  signs. 
We  may  recall  to  mind  the  requirement  of  Naaman,  that  he 
should  bathe  in  Jordan  ;  our  Lord's  use  of  spittle  for  anointing  the 
blind  man's  eyes ;  and  James's  suggestion,  that  faith  in  the  Lord's 
healing  of  the  sick  man  should  be  shown  by  helping  the  man  to  make 
his  toilet  as  if  he  was  restored. 

The  description  given  of  the  disease  from  which  Hezekiah  suffered 
is  not  presented  in  sufficient  detail  for  us  to  identify  it  with  any  cer- 


HEZEKIAH'S  CURE.  463 

tainty.  It  is  called  a  '  boil,'  and  boils  of  a  malignant  character,  that 
imperil  life,  are  known  by  us  as  *  carbuncles,'  and  if  these  come  in 
certain  positions  of  the  body,  the  patient  has  a  terribly  suffering  time, 
and  retains  life  only  with  extremest  effort.  The  one  thing  that 
inclines  us  to  recognise  in  Hezekiah's  boil  a  malignant  carbuncle  is, 
that  such  developments  often  follow  upon  the  lowered  vitality  attend- 
ing times  of  great  mental  strain  and  anxiety.  The  physical  effects  of 
*  worry '  often  find  expression  in  such  diseased  discharges ;  and 
through  a  time — and  a  prolonged  time — of  supreme  anxiety  this 
jood  king  had  been  passing.  A  boil  in  the  arm-pit,  setting  up  severe 
inflammation,  constitutes  the  well-known  plague  of  Egypt,  which  was 
for  so  many  centuries,  and  until  lately,  the  scourge  of  the  Levant. 
If  such  boils  can  be  made  to  discharge  freely,  the  danger  of  them 
quickly  passes  away ;  but  if  the  discharge  be  unnatural,  or  unduly 
prolonged,  the  patient  sinks  under  the  strain  or  the  general  disturb- 
ance of  his  system,  and  a  good  deal  depends  on  skill  of  treatment  in 
the  later  stages  of  the  disease.  Those  who  have  suffered  from  such 
eruptions  know  well  the  extreme  pain  and  exhaustion  of  the  time 
immediately  preceding  the  suppuration  of  the  boil,  and  the  instant 
and  delightful  relief  felt  when  the  discharge  commences. 

We  need  not  assume  that  so  familiar  a  remedy  as  a  poultice  of  figs 
had  not  been  thought  of  by  the  king's  physicians,  but  it  would  be 
quite  in  accordance  with  human  nature  in  doctors,  if  they  had  used 
all  sorts  of  grand  remedies  and  neglected  this  very  simple  household 
one.  And  if  the  boil  was  almost  ready  for  bursting,  this  poultice 
would  do  exactly  what  was  required.  We  may,  therefore,  regard  the 
application  of  it  as  an  efficient  means  upon  which  the  Divine  blessing 
graciously  rested,  and  Hezekiah's  recovery  may  take  rank  among 
those  healings  in  answer  to  prayer,  with  which  we  are  ourselves 
familiar.  It  is  not  sufficiently  noticed,  that  Hezekiah's  recovery  was 
not  until  the  third  day  after  the  application  of  the  poultice,  which 
certainly  suggests  that  the  healing  agency  did  its  work  in  the  ordinary 
and  usual  manner. 

Elijah's  Horeb  Scene. 

I  KINGS  xix.  II  :  *  And  he  said,  Go  forth  and  stand  upon  the  mount  before  the 
Lord,  and,  behold,  the  Lord  passed  by.' 

Difficulty. — In  this  scene  mental  vision  is  so  blended  with  what 
seems  to  be  miracle,  that  it  is  nearly  impossible  to  tell  what  is  natural 
and  what  is  supernatural 

Explanation. — Such  cases  must  always  be  judged  in  the  light  of 
the  temperament  of  the  person  concerned,  and  in  view  of  his  par- 


464     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

ticular  mental  mood  at  the  time  of  the  occurrence.  What  is  narrated 
here  is  the  Divine  correction  and  revival  of  the  faint-hearted  and 
unduly  despondent  prophet.  Communications  were  made  directly 
to  his  heart,  and  also  mediately  through  the  influence  exerted  by  the 
grand  things  of  nature  upon  him.  Prophetic  and  poetic  souls  are 
sensitive  to  nature-moods  in  ways  and  degrees  that  seem  impossible 
to  prosaic  souls.  They  can  hear  messages,  and  translate  into  definite 
meaning  sights  and  sounds,  which  are  dumb  to  most  of  us.  And  if 
God  would  communicate  with  such  prophetic  souls,  nature,  in  her 
softer  or  her  wilder  moods,  may  be  His  voice  to  them.  A  distinct 
purpose,  to  nourish  the  sense  of  awe  and  reverence,  led  to  the  people 
of  Israel  being  brought  amongst  the  awful  primeval  rocks  of  Sinai. 
It  was  the  appropriate  spot  of  earth  for  the  revelation  of  the  one 
living  and  true  God;  and  Nature-influences  harmonized  with  the 
verbal  revelations.  The  same  may  be  remarked  of  this  scene  of 
Elijah.  The  grand  things  of  nature,  witnessed  among  the  ever- 
lasting hills,  are  not  miracles,  but  they  are  the  servants  of  God, 
coming  and  going  at  His  bidding,  and  doing  His  work,  and  carrying 
His  messages,  as  they  come  and  go. 

There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  necessity  for  introducing  the 
supernatural  into  this  Horeb  scene,  unless  it  be  thought  supernatural 
that  the  Great  Spirit  should  communicate  directly  with  the  human 
spirit  That,  however,  we  have  learned  to  regard  as  a  regular 
method  of  Divine  dealing.  John  Howe's  view  can  have  its  reference 
to  other  modes  of  producing  impressions  of  God  than  those  found  in 
the  written  Word.  He  says  :  *  Nor  do  I  believe  that  God  never  doth 
immediately  testify  His  own  special  love  to  holy  souls  without  the 
intervention  of  some  part  of  His  eternal  Word,  made  use  of  as  a 
present  instrument  to  that  purpose,  or  that  He  always  doth  it  in  the 
way  of  methodical  reasoning  therefrom/ 

The  associations  of  a  great  storm  of  wind  and  lightning  among  the 
mountains  will  explain  the  phenomena  recorded,  and  the  gentle 
breathing  of  the  air,  when  the  storm-time  had  passed,  is  the  basis  of 
the  poetical  figure  of  the  'still  small  voice.'  He  reads  the  story 
aright  who  reads  the  impression  made  on  Elijah,  and  the  prophetic 
communications  for  which  God  thus  prepared  the  way,  ensuring  in 
His  servant  an  open,  and  receptive,  and  humble  mood. 

No  one  seems  to  have  realized  the  scene  better  than  Dean  Stanley ', 
whose  description  seems  to  so  recreate  the  incident  as  to  satisfy  all 
difficulties.  *  Elijah  is  drawn  out  by  the  warning,  like  that  which 
came  to  Moses  on  the  same  spot,  and  stands  on  the  mountain-side, 
expecting  the  signs  of  the  Divine  presence.  He  listened ;  and  there 


ELIJAH'S  HOREB  SCENE.  465 

came  the  sound  of  a  rushing  hurricane,  which  burst  through  the 
mountain  wall  and  rolled  down  the  granite  rocks  in  massive  frag- 
ments round  him.  "  But  Jehovah  was  not  in  the  wind."  He  stood 
firm  on  his  feet,  expecting  it  again  ;  and  under  his  feet  the  solid 
mountain  shook,  with  the  shock  of  a  mighty  earthquake.  "But 
Jehovah  was  not  in  the  earthquake."  He  looked  out  on  the  hills  as 
they  rose  before  him  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  they  flamed 
with  flashes  of  fire,  as  in  the  days  of  Moses.  "  But  Jehovah  was  not 
in  the  fire."  And  then,  in  the  deep  stillness  of  the  desert  air — un- 
broken by  falling  stream,  or  note  of  bird,  or  tramp  of  beast,  or  cry  of 
man — came  the  whisper,  of  a  voice  as  of  a  gentle  breath — of  a  voice 
so  small  that  it  was  almost  like  silence.  Then  he  knew  that  the 
moment  was  come.  He  drew,  as  was  his  wont,  his  rough  mantle 
over  his  head ;  he  wrapt  his  face  in  its  ample  folds ;  he  came  out 
from  the  sheltering  rock,  and  stood  beneath  the  cave  to  receive  the 
Divine  communications.  They  blended  with  the  vision :  one  cannot 
be  understood  without  the  other.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  seems  to  accept  the  phenomena  as  natural  and 
ordinary,  for  he  says  :  *  A  rushing  hurricane,  before  which  Elijah 
sank  once  more  into  the  depths  of  the  cave,  burst  through  the  awful 
gorges  of  the  mountains,  tearing  off  huge  granite  fragments  on  every 
side.  Then  followed  the  crash  of  an  earthquake,  making  the  mighty 
peaks  and  summits  rock  and  sway  on  their  foundations ;  and  after 
that  the  peals  of  an  awful  thunderstorm  reverberated  through  the 
naked  defiles  :  the  incessant  blaze  of  Eastern  lightning  flaming  around, 
and  revealing  the  heights  and  depths  of  the  rocky  wilderness.' 

Sonar's  description  of  the  district  round  Elijah  at  the  time,  and 
this  Divine  revelation  to  him,  will  enable  us  to  realize  how  profoundly 
nature  must  have  influenced  him.  'We  saw  the  "great  and  terrible 
wilderness  "  around  us  ....  no  green  spot,  no  tree,  no  flower,  no 
rill,  no  lake,  but  dark  brown  ridges,  red  peaks,  like  pyramids  of  solid 
fire.  No  rounded  hillocks,  or  soft  mountain  curves  such  as  one  sees 
even  in  the  ruggedest  of  home-scenes,  but  monstrous  and  misshapen 
cliffs,  rising  tier  above  tier,  and  surmounted  here  and  there  by  some 
spire-like  summits,  serrated  for  miles  into  rugged  grandeur,  and 
grooved  from  head  to  foot  by  the  winter  torrents  that  had  swept  down 
like  bursting  water-spouts,  tearing  their  naked  loins,  and  cutting  into 
the  very  veins  and  sinews  of  the  fiery  rock ;  a  land  of  darkness,  as 
darkness  itself,  and  of  the  shadow  of  death ;  without  any  order,  and 
where  the  light  is  as  darkness.' 

The  Speakers  Commentary  suggestively  calls  this  scene  an  '  acted 
parable.' 


466      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Preservation   of    Clothes     during     the     Wilderness 

Journey. 

DEUTERONOMY  viii.  4  :  '  Thy  raiment  waxed  not  old  upon  thee,  neither  did 
thy  foot  swell,  these  forty  years.' 

Question. — Does  this  declare  only  an  extraordinary \  or  must  we 
understand  a  miraculous,  preservation  of  clothing  ? 

Answer. — It  is  singular  to  find  no  mention  of  this  matter  either 
in  Exodus,  Leviticus,  or  Numbers.  Moses  refers  to  it  again  in  his 
preamble  to  the  renewal  of  the  covenant  (chap.  xxix.  5).  'And  I 
have  led  you  forty  years  in  the  wilderness ;  your  clothes  are  not 
vvaken  old  upon  you,  and  thy  shoe  is  not  waxen  old  upon  thy  foot' 
When  the  Levites,  in  Neh.  ix.  21,  recall  the  Divine  mercies  shown  to 
the  Israelite  race,  they  repeat  the  words  of  Moses,  '  their  clothes 
waxed  not  old,  and  their  feet  swelled  not.'  In  view  of  the  figurative 
character  of  Eastern  expression,  our  first  thought  would  be  that  this 
is  a  sort  of  proverb,  a  common  saying  to  indicate  the  Divine  care  and 
keeping :  and  this  view  is  well  supported  by  further  consideration 
and  careful  study. 

The  actual  preservation  of  clothes  and  shoes  from  decay  was  not 
necessary  to  the  safety  or  comfort  of  the  people,  as  they  had  the 
materials  for  renewal  at  easy  command.  Wandering  tribes  are 
almost  entirely  dressed  in  homespun,  the  materials  being  provided 
from  the  wool  of  sheep  and  goat,  and  even  camel.  The  skins  of 
animals  dying,  sacrificed,  or  slaughtered  for  eating,  provided  abun- 
dance of  leather.  And  no  intimation  is  given  us  that  the  Israelites 
were  debarred  from  bartering  with  the  tribes  around,  and  so  pro- 
curing other  articles  needed  fo/  their  comfort  or  use.  We  may 
reverently  say  that  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  sufficient 
occasion  for  a  miracle  to  preserve  what  could  be  so  readily  renewed. 

The  tendency  unduly  to  introduce  the  miraculous  element  is  seen 
in  the  fact  that  the  Jewish  commentators  assert  concerning  this 
matter,  that  the  clothes  of  the  people  grew  with  their  growth  from 
childhood  to  manhood. 

Waller,  in  Ellicotfs  Commentary,  says :  '  We  cannot  say  that  any- 
thing miraculous  is  certainly  intended,  though  it  is  not  impossible. 
It  may  mean  that  God  in  His  providence  directed  them  to  clothe 
themselves  in  a  manner  suitable  to  their  journey  and  their  mode  of 
life.' 

Speakers  Commentary  says  :  '  These  words  in  a  passage  like  the 
present,  where  the  speaker  is  not  so  much  narrating  historically  as 


DAVIHS  VISION  OF  THE  ANGEL.  ^67 

alluding  for  hortatory  purposes  to  God's  care  of  them  in  the  desert, 
may  signify  no  more  than  that  "  God  so  amply  provided  for  them  all 
the  necessaries  of  life,  that  they  were  never  obliged  to  wear  tattered 
garments,  nor  were  their  feet  injured  for  lack  of  shoes  or  sandals." ' 

Both  in  Deut.  viii.  4,  and  xxix.  5,  the  words  *  waxes  not  old  upon ' 
should  be  read  '  fell  not  from  off,'  and  simply  mean  that  the  people 
were  never  without  suitable  clothing. 

David's  Vision  of  the  Angel. 

i  CHRONICLES  xxi.  16  :  '  And  David  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  stand  between  the  earth  and  the  heaven,  having  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand 
stretched  out  over  Jerusalem.' 

Question. —  Was  this  a  vision  made  to  the  mind  of  David  only,  or 
may  we  think  there  was  some  outward  appearance  which  others  besides 
David  could  perceive  ?  (See  verse  20). 

Answer. — It  is  not  possible  to  give  any  description  of  a  Bible 
*  vision '  which  would  be  found  to  suit  all  cases  that  are  recorded. 
In  the  very  idea  of  a  vision  is  involved  that  it  should  be  precisely 
adapted  to  the  occasion,  and  fitted  to  the  mental  moods,  and  the 
sphere  of  knowledge,  of  the  person  to  whom  it  is  given.  Whether  the 
impression  was  always  produced  on  the  man  that  he  actually  saw 
something  with  his  bodily  eyes  cannot  be  assured.  We  know  how  it 
is  possible  for  us  to  see  things  which  never  take  any  material  shape. 
Possibly  the  normal  idea  of  communication  by  vision  was  this — a 
man  seemed  to  see  a  sight,  though  there  was  no  external  form,  and 
to  hear  a  voice,  though  there  was  no  person  speaking.  .But  it  must 
be  admitted  that  in  many  cases  the  vision  was  of  an  external  form  ; 
there  was  something  which  the  bodily  senses  could  apprehend. 

There  are  cases  narrated,  with  more  or  less  of  truth,  of  strange 
appearances  in  the  clouds,  foreshadowing  the  doom  of  cities  or  the 
approach  of  grave  calamities ;  but  these  are  usually  the  creations  of 
men  of  great  imaginative  sensitiveness,  and  others  seem  to  see  what 
they  can  show  them.  David's  vision  of  the  angel  of  the  plague  be- 
longs to  this  class  of  portents,  but  is  connected  with  a  precise  Divine 
communication.  There  is  no  reason  against  the  assumption  that  a 
great  cloud-form,  taking  shape  to  a  sensitive  mind  like  an  angel  with 
<x  sword,  and  seen  by  others  as  well  as  David,  formed  the  actual 
basis,  the  external  reality,  of  an  inward  and  spiritual  revelation  of  the 
Divine  will.  It  should,  however,  be  carefully  noted  that,  in  this  case, 
the  prophet  Gad  was  the  medium  of  Divine  communications,  and 
the  angf.l-form  did  but  serve  to  arouse  due  attention  and  concern. 

30—2 


468      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

On  verse  20,  Ellicotfs  Commentary  says:  *  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  this  is  corrupt,  and  that  the  text  of  Samuel  is  right. 
"  And  Araunah  looked  up,  and  saw  the  king  and  his  servants  passing 
by  him." '  On  this  showing  we  may  consider  that  the  angel-vision  was 
jne  which  was  given  to  David  alone.  To  understand  the  incidents 
the  account  given  in  2  Samuel  xxiv.  should  be  compared.  From  it 
we  learn  that  the  sight  of  the  angel  of  judgment  wakened  David  to  a 
sense  of  sin,  and  drove  him  to  confession  and  prayer.  Then  Gad 
brought  to  him  the  Divine  answer,  and  spoke  it  to  him  in  human 
words.  Some  writers  have  suggested  that  the  more  minute  and 
wonderful  details  given  in  Chronicles  are  *  derived  from  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  writer,  who  gratified  his  love  of  the  marvellous  by  thu? 
expanding  the  simpler  words  of  his  predecessor/ 

Dean  Stanley,  without  affirming  that  the  instances  were  strictly 
similar,  says :  *  Above  this  spot  (the  threshing-floor  of  Araunah)  is 
said  to  have  appeared  an  awful  vision,  such  as  is  described  in  the 
later  days  of  Jerusalem,  or  in  the  pestilence  of  Rome,  under  Gregory 
the  Great,  or  in  our  own  plague  of  London,  of  a  celestial  messenger 
stretching  out  a  drawn  sword  between  earth  and  sky  over  the  devoted 
city.' 

*  The  Bible  idea  of  an  angel  seems  to  be  that  of  an  agent,  other 
than  man,  employed  to  carry  out  the  Divine  purposes  in  the  sphere 
of  creation,  and  especially  in  this  our  world.  If  we  accept  this  com 
prehensive  conception  of  an  angel,  we  shall  understand  how  there 
may  be  angels  of  affliction,  angels  of  death,  and  even  angels  o^ 
temptation,  all  engaged  directly  in  the  Divine  service.  Destruction 
by  pestilence  is  on  several  occasions  attributed  to  the  ministry  of  an 
angel,  e.g.,  destruction  of  the  first-born  in  Egypt,  and  of  Sennacherib's 
army.  This  is  still  a  familiar  poetic  figure.  Sometimes  unseen 
things  have  been  graciously  set  within  the  sphere  of  the  senses,  in 
order  to  help  men  to  feel  the  reality  of  the  unseen.  Angels  are  un- 
seen beings  ;  the  Divine  workings  are  largely  secret  and  unseen  ;  but 
it  pleases  God  to  set  his  people  sometimes  "  within  the  veil  " ;  or,  we 
may  say,  "  behind  the  scenes  "  ;  or  down  below  among  the  machinery, 
so  that  they  may  gain  for  themselves,  and  give  to  others,  fitting 
impressions  of  the  reality  of  the  Divine  working.' — Pulpit  Com- 
mentary. 


LIFE  FROM  TOUCHING  THE  BONES  OF  ELI SH A.  469 
Life  from  touching  the  Bones  of  Elisha. 

2  KINGS  xiii.  21  :  '  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  were  burying  a  man.  thaf, 
behold,  they  spied  a  hand  ;  and  they  cast  the  man  into  the  sepulchre  of  Elisha  : 
and  as  soon  as  the  man  touched  the  bones  of  Elisha,  he  revived,  and  stood  up  on 
his  feet '  (Rev.  Ver.) 

Difficulty. — There  does  not  appear  to  be  any  sufficient  reason  for 
the  working  of  this  miracle  ;  and  no  one  was  so  connected  with  it  as  to 
indicate  how  it  made  witness  for  God. 

Explanation. — This  narrative  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  per- 
plexing in  the  Old  Testament,  and  is  only  matched  by  the  equally 
astonishing  statement  of  the  New  Testament,  that  at  our  Lord's 
death,  '  the  graves  were  opened ;  and  many  bodies  of  the  saints 
which  slept  arose,  and  came  out  of  the  graves  after  His  resurrection, 
and  went  into  the  holy  city,  and  appeared  unto  many '  (Matt,  xxvii. 

S«»  53). 

The  first  suggestion  that  comes  to  mind  is  that  such  a  passage  must 
surely  be  a  later  addition  to  the  narrative,  and  must  belong  to  a  time 
when  there  was  a  disposition  to  multiply  wonders.  Dean  Stanley 
very  significantly  says :  *  Alone  of  all  the  graves  of  the  saints  of  the 
Old  Testament,  there  were  wonders  wrought  at  it  which  seemed  to 
continue  after  death  the  grace  of  his  long  and  gentle  life.  It  was 
believed  that  by  the  mere  touch  of  his  bones  a  dead  corpse  was  re- 
animated.' And  Dr.  S.  G.  Green  evidently  feels  the  difficulty  of 
this  case,  for,  after  enumerating  the  miracles  of  Elisha,  he  says : 
1  May  we  add  the  miracle  wrought  even  by  his  bones  in  the  sepul- 
chre, on  touching  which  a  dead  man  revived  and  stood  upon  his 
feet  ?' 

But  we  can  find  no  support  for  the  idea  that  this  narrative  is  a  later 
addition  to  the  text.  It  must  be  accepted  as  a  part  of  the  history, 
and  probably  nothing  can  be  said  about  it  more  satisfactory  than  that 
which  may  be  found  in  an  '  Additional  Note  '  of  the  Speaker's  Com- 
mentary. '  The  miracle  of  Elisha's  after  his  death  is  more  surprising 
than  any  of  those  which  he  performed  during  his  life-time.  The  Jews 
regarded  it  as  his  highest  glory ;  and  hence  the  son  of  Sirach  con- 
eludes  his  eulogy  of  Elisha  with  a  double  reference  to  it :  "  No  word 
could  overcome  him,  and  after  his  death  his  body  prophesied.  He 
did  wonders  in  his  life,  and  at  his  death  were  his  works  marvellous  " 
(Eccles.  xlviii.  13,  14).  No  exact  parallel  to  the  miracle  offers  itself 
to  us  in  the  rest  of  Scripture.  Still,  it  may  be  said  to  belong  to  a 
class  of  Scripture  miracles,  cases,  i.e.,  where  the  miracle  was  not 
wrought  through  the  agency  of  a  living  miracle- worker,  but  by  a 


470      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

material  object  in  which,  by  God's  will,  "  virtue  "  for  the  time  resided. 
The  most  familiar  example  of  this  class  is  the  staunching  of  the  issue 
of  blood  by  the  touch  of  the  hem  of  Christ's  garment ;  but  the  cures 
wrought  by  "  handkerchiefs  and  aprons  "  brought  to  the  sick  from  the 
body  of  St.  Paul  (Acts  xix.  12)  are  still  more  nearly  parallel. 
Another,  not  exactly  similar,  but  still  connected  instance,  is  that  of 
St.  Peter's  shadow,  which  seems  to  have  had  a  healing  efficacy  (see 
Acts  v.  15).  Miracles  of  this  kind  appear  to  be  peculiarly  offensive 
to  our  modern  thought,  but  it  is  difficult  to  say  why.  As  Dean  Alford 
well  observes  :  "  All  miraculous  working  is  an  exertion  of  the  direct 
power  of  the  All-powerful ;  a  suspension  by  Him  of  His  ordinary  laws ; 
and  whether  He  will  use  any  instrument  in  doing  this,  or  what  instru- 
ment, must  depend  altogether  on  His  own  purpose  in  the  miracle— 
the  effect  to  be  produced  on  the  recipients,  beholders,  or  hearers. 
Without  His  special  selection  and  enabling  all  instruments  were  vain 
— with  these,  all  are  capable''1  In  the  present  instance,  no  doubt,  the 
primary  effect  was  greatly  to  increase  the  reverence  of  the  Israelites 
for  the  memory  of  Elisha,  to  lend  force  to  his  teaching,  and  especially 
to  add  weight  to  his  unfulfilled  prophecies,  as  to  that  concerning  the 
coming  triumphs  of  Israel  over  Syria.  In  the  extreme  state  of  de- 
pression, to  which  the  Israelites  were  now  reduced,  a  very  signal 
miracle  may  have  been  needed  to  encourage  and  reassure  them.' 

For  ourselves  we  confess  that  no  real  relief  of  the  difficulties  of  this 
incident  can  be  obtained ;  and  we  are  content  to  leave  it  among  the 
things  that  must  remain  '  hard  to  be  understood.' 

Fiery  Serpents. 

NUMBERS  xxi.  6:  'And  the  Lord  sent  fiery  serpents  among  the  people,  and 
they  bit  the  people,  and  much  people  of  Israel  died.' 

Question. — Does  the  assertion  that « the  Lord  sent '  these  serpents 
involve  that  He  sent  them  in  a  miraculous  way  ? 

Answer. — This  is  one  of  the  cases  in  which  we  may  trace  the 
distinction  between  the  Providential  and  the  miraculous.  The  serpents 
are  characteristic  of  the  district ;  their  special  number,  their  activity, 
and  the  inflammatory  character  of  their  bite  at  this  time,  all  indicate 
a  controlling  Providence ;  but  there  is  nothing  that  can  properly  be 
called  supernatural  in  the  incidents.  The  Providential  keeps  strictly 
in  the  line  of  natural  agencies,  but  may  vary  their  action.  The 
miraculous  introduces  other  agencies  than  belong  to  ordinary  human 
experience. 

The  expression  '  the  Lord  sent '  is  the  pious  sentiment  and  expres- 
sion of  the  Jew,  who  traced  the  direct  working  of  God  in  everything 


FIER  Y  SERPENTS.  47 1 

that  happened.  We  may  call  it  the  detailed  and  practical  expression 
of  the  idea  of  the  theocracy — the  direct  rule,  control,  action  of  God  in 
all  the  concerns  of  the  people.  When  we  should  say  of  a  thing,  '  /'/ 
happened?  the  Israelite  would  say,  *  God  did  so  and  so,'  or  '  God  sent 
so  and  so.'  If  we  firmly  hold  that  the  Providential  is  the  Divine,'  we 
may  call  the  visitation  of  the  fiery  serpents  Providential.  It  was 
Divine  chastisement  and  correction  by  the  control  of  Providential 
arrangements.  An  ordinary  annoyance  and  peril  was  made  to  become 
a  public  calamity. 

The  description  *  fiery '  may  refer  to  the  appearance  of  the  snake, 
but  it  would  be  more  simple  to  treat  it  as  suggesting  the  inflammation 
caused  by  its  bite.  Quite  a  number  of  snakes  have  been  described 
with  a  view  to  identification,  but  the  one  thing  to  which  inquiry 
should  be  limited  is,  what  are  the  serpents  now  found  in  that  portipn 
of  country  through  which  the  Israelites  were  travelling  at  this  time  ? 
To  this  question  Dr.  C.  Geikie  gives  careful  attention,  and  upon  it 
he  has  collected  valuable  information.  He  says  :  *  The  region  itself 
provided  a  terrible  punishment  for  such  disloyalty  and  rebellion. 
Venomous  serpents  abounded  in  it,  and  spread  terror  and  death. 
A  strange  confusion  of  texts  has  led  to  the  common  idea  that  they 
were  "  flying  serpents  "  that  thus  assailed  Israel.  But  there  is  not  a 
word  in  Numbers  or  Deuteronomy  of  their  being  so  (Deut.  viii.  15). 
It  is  Isaiah  who  speaks  of  "  flying  serpents,"  but  without  any  reference 
to  the  incidents  of  the  desert  (Isai.  xiv.  29 ;  xxx.  6).  It  is  highly 
interesting  to  find  that  in  the  very  neighbourhood  in  which  Israel  was 
then  encamped,  travellers  mention  the  existence  of  serpents  in  great 
numbers.  Thus,  Captain  Frazer  tells  us  that  "  All  the  Arabs  say  there 
are  flying  serpents  here,  three  feet  long,  very  venomous,  their  bite 
deadly  ;  they  have  no  wings,  but  make  great  springs"  Mr.  Churton, 
when  south-west  of  the  Dead  Sea,  fell  in  with  a  large  red-coloured 
serpent,  which  came  out  of  a  hollow  tree,  and  was  declared  by  the 
Arabs  to  be  poisonous.  Burckhardt  writes  :  "  The  sand  showed  every- 
where tracks  of  these  reptiles.  My  guide  told  me  they  were  very 
numerous  in  these  parts,  and  that  the  fishermen  were  in  such  dread 
of  them,  that  they  put  out  their  fire  each  night  before  going  to  sleep, 
lest  it  should  attract  them."  In  a  similar  strain  Schubert  tells  us  that 
"  A  large  and  very  mottled  snake  was  brought  us,  marked  with  fiery 
red  spots  and  stripes.  From  its  teeth,  it  evidently  belonged  to  one 
of  the  most  poisonous  kinds.  The  Bedouins  say  that  these  creatures, 
of  which  they  are  in  terror,  are  very  numerous  in  this  locality." ' 

Alexander,  in  crossing  Gedrosia,  lost  many  men  through  the 
serpents  which  sprang  upon  them  from  the  sand  and  brushwood. 


472      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
Inexhaustible  Meal  and  Oil. 

I  KINGS  xvii.  14  :  .  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  The  barrel  of 
meal  shall  not  waste,  neither  shall  the  cruse  of  oil  fail,  until  the  day  that  the 
Lord  sendeth  rain  upon  the  earth  '  {Rev.  Ver. ). 

Question. — To  what  class  of  miracles  does  this  belong;  and  can 
any  explanation  be  given  of  so  remarkable  a  provision  being  made  for 
so  small  a  family  of  strangers  ? 

Answer. — Somewhat  similar  miracles  are  found  in  Elisha's 
multiplying  the  loaves  and  corn  and  oil  (2  Kings  iv.  6,  42-44),  and 
our  Lord's  feeding  of  the  thousands.  All  the  cases  are  outside  of, 
and  beyond,  ordinary  human  experience,  and  bear  an  evident  super- 
natural character. 

As  an  illustration,  and  a  teaching  of  the  people  by  illustration,  this 
miracle  was  all  the  more  striking  and  effective,  in  that  it  was  wrought 
for  a  poor  and  despised  widow,  and  she  a  stranger  to  the  claims  and 
privileges  of  Israel.  It  was  a  manifestation  of  the  grace  and  pro- 
viding of  God,  which  was  all  the  more  impressive  because  of  the 
dark  background  on  which  it  was  set.  And  the  woman's  faith  in 
God,  shown  in  acts  of  trustful  obedience,  puts  to  shame  the  unbelief 
of  Israel,  whose  forsaking  of  Jehovah  had  brought  on  the  terrible 
judgment  of  the  famine. 

Very  few  Biblical  writers  attempt  to  deal  with  the  difficulties  of 
this  incident.  They  usually  satisfy  themselves  with  pointing  out  its 
moral  or  religious  suggestions.  Ellicotfs  Commentary  contains  the 
following  good  note  :  l  The  miracle  is  doubly  remarkable.  First, 
in  this  instance,  as  in  the  similar  miracles  of  Elisha,  and  of  our  Lord 
Himself,  we  see  that  God's  higher  laws  of  miracle,  like  the  ordinary 
laws  of  His  Providence,  admit  within  their  scope  the  supply  of  what 
we  should  consider  as  homely  and  trivial  needs — in  this  respect, 
perhaps,  contradicting  what  our  expectation  would  have  suggested. 
Next,  that  it  is  a  miracle  of  multiplication,  which  is  virtual  creation 
— not  necessarily  out  of  nothing — doing  rapidly  and  directly  what, 
under  ordinary  laws,  has  to  be  done  slowly  and  by  indirect  process. 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  recognises  and  deals  with  objections 
from  the  naturalistic  point  of  view  :  *  This  is  the  first  recorded  miracle 
of  its  kind — a  supernatural  and  inexplicable  multiplication  of  food. 
This  class  of  miracles  offers  peculiar  difficulties  to  modern  sceptics, 
who  ask  whether  the  senses  and  appetite  were  cheated,  or  whether 
new  matter  was  created,  or  whether,  finally,  there  was  a  trans- 
formation of  previously  existing  matter  into  meal,  oil,  fish,  and 
bread.  The  sacred  record  does  not  enable  us  to  answer  these 


INEXHAUSTIBLE  MEAL  AND  OIL.  473 

inquiries  positively;  but  we  may  observe  that,  if  the  last  of  the 
three  explanations  above  suggested  be  the  true  one,  the  marvel 
of  the  thing  would  not  be  much  greater  than  that  astonishing 
natural  chemistry  by  which,  in  the  growth  of  plants,  particles  of 
water,  air,  and  earth  are  transmuted  into  fruits  and  grains  of  corn, 
and  so  fitted  to  be  human  food.  There  would  be  a  difference  in  the 
agency  employed,  and  in  the  time  occupied  in  the  transmutation,  but 
the  thing  done  would  be  almost  the  same.' 

It  has  been  remarked  that  'the  supernatural  character  of  the 
history  of  Elijah,  in  which  miraculous  incidents  are  crowded  in  a  very 
remarkable  way,  has  naturally  directed  upon  it  the  fiercest  hostility  of 
rationalistic  critics.  Ewald^  and  after  him  Bunsen^  have  summarily 
pronounced  the  narrative  unhistorical.  Bunserfs  theory  is  that  the 
narrative  is  a  traditional  myth,  a  popular  epic  poem,  like  the  Iliad ; 
the  image  of  Elijah,  like  that  of  Hercules,  being  that  of  a  fabulous 
hero,  a  "  wonderful  creative  representation,"  as  Ewald  expresses  it, 
"  of  the  sublimest  prophetic  truths."  The  primary  question  of  the 
validity  of  the  miraculous  element  in  Old  Testament  history  must, 
however,  be  determined  upon  broader  and  more  general  grounds, 
than  are  presented  by  any  one  particular  set  of  incidents. 

The  Natural  Agencies  in  the  Miracle  of  dividing 

the  Sea. 

EXODUS  xiv.  21  :  'And  Moses  stretched  out  his  hand  over  the  sea;  and  the 
Lord  caused  the  sea  to  go  back  by  a  strong  east  wind  all  the  night,  and  made  the 
sea  dry  land,  and  the  waters  were  divided.' 

Difficulty. — This  assertion^  that  the  waters  were  removed  by  the 
agency  of  the  east  wind>  appears  to  relieve  the  narrative  of  its  miraculous 
character. 

Explanation. — If  we  use  terms  with  precision,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  events  here  narrated  were  *  Providential,'  and  not  strictly 
4  miraculous.'  Nothing  is  said  that  may  not  be  accounted  for  by  the 
action  of  ordinary,  known,  and  natural  forces ;  but  there  are  combi- 
nations, degrees,  and  fittings  of  times,  which  distinctly  and  im- 
pressively convince  of  the  direct  intervention  of  God,  the  controlling 
of  Divine  Providence.  As  the  natural  agencies  which  God  was 
pleased  to  use  for  the  outworking  of  His  purpose  are  precisely 
stated,  it  is  proper  for  us  to  endeavour  to  understand  what  actually 
occurred. 

Before  attempting  an  explanation  of  the  wonderful  crossing,  it 
may  be  well  to  confirm  the  reasonableness  of  our  undertaking  by 


474      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

quoting  the  following  words  of  Canon  Rawlinson:  'Whether  the 
whole  effect  was  purely  natural,  or  whether  (as  in  so  many  other 
cases)  God  used  the  force  of  nature  so  far  as  it  could  go,  and 
further  supernaturally  increased  its  force,  we  are  not  told,  and  may 
form  what  opinion  we  please.'  And  also  the  language  of  Canon 
Cook:  '  It  is  distinctly  stated  that  the  agency  by  which  the  object  was 
effected  was  natural.  It  is  clear  that  Moses  takes  for  granted  that  a 
strong  east  wind  blowing  through  the  night,  under  given  circum- 
stances, would  make  the  passage  quite  possible.  It  would  seem  to  be 
scarcely  practicable,  when  the  wind  blows  from  other  quarters.' 

In  a  previous  paragraph,  we  have  taken  the  view  that  a  wide  stretch 
of  sand  reached  from  Suez  to  the  Bitter  Lakes;  that  this  was  at  one  time 
but  lightly  covered  with  the  sea  at  low  tide,  and  across  it  one  or  more 
fords  were  arranged.  The  stretch  of  sand,  at  least  a  mile  or  two  wide, 
and  from  one  to  six  miles  across,  was  the  wide  road  providentially 
prepared  for  the  crossing  of  the  Israelites.  We  have,  therefore,  to 
inquire  what  help  our  knowledge  of  such  tide-washed  belts  of  sand 
will  give  us  towards  the  understanding  of  the  scene. 

Bays,  or  sandy  estuaries,  such  as  that  known  as  Morecambe  Bay, 
afford  valuable  suggestions.  In  the  inland  part  of  that  bay,  the  tide 
sometimes  runs  right  out,  leaving  a  great  reach  of  sand — seamed  with 
channels — which  quickly  hardens,  so  that  persons,  and  even  carts  and 
horses,  readily  cross  from  one  side  to  the  other,  a  distance  of  some 
miles.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  know  the  state  both  of  the  wind 
and  the  tide,  for  the  wind  may  retard  the  tide  or  may  hurry  its 
return ;  and  it  has  been  known  to  come  back  so  swiftly  along  the 
channels,  that  the  fleetest  horse,  caught  in  the  middle  of  the  bay, 
could  not  hope  to  escape.  We  have  imagined  the  tide  held  back  for 
some  time  by  an  opposing  wind,  and  the  host  of  Israel  well-nigh 
covering  this  great  stretch  of  sand,  hurrying  across  while  the  pathway 
kept  safe,  and  felt  that  Morecambe  Bay  must  well  represent  the 
district  north  of  Suez. 

A  fact  may  be  added,  which  has  been  observed  in  connection 
with  the  Goodwin  Sands,  off  Ramsgate.  When  the  tide  recedes 
far  back,  the  treacherous  sands  become  so  hard  that  games  of  cricket 
are  played  upon  them ;  but  as  soon  as  the  tide  turns,  they  change 
again  into  quicksands,  which  would  readily  engulf  Pharaoh  and  all 
his  cavalry. 

We  have  then,  in  the  description  of  the  district  above  Suez,  and  in 
our  knowledge  of  the  effects  of  wind  on  sands  and  tides,  the  materials 
for  a  very  reasonable  explanation  of  the  deliverance  of  Israel  by  a 
passage  through  the  sea.  It  is  true  that  the  agency  of  the  wind 


MIRACLE  OF  DIVIDING  THE  S&A.  475 

alone  is  mentioned,  but  the  ordinary  effect  of  the  tides  is  assumed  ; 
and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  an  Egyptian  tradition  distinctly 
states,  '  Moses  waited  for  the  ebb  tide  in  order  to  lead  the  Israelites 
across.'  It  may  be  further  remarked,  that  the  Hebrews  gave  names 
only  to  the  four  winds  from  the  four  cardinal  points,  so  that  north- 
east and  south-east,  the  winds  employed  in  this  case,  are  included 
under  the  general  term  east.  It  was  a  north-east  wind  which  kept 
back  the  tide,  holding  it  from  its  usual  return  flow  at  its  appointed 
time,  and  prolonging  the  hours  for  the  crossing ;  it  was  a  sudden 
change  of  wind  to  the  south-east,  which  brought  the  gathered  waters 
swiftly  and  overwhelmingly  down  upon  the  hosts  of  Pharaoh. 

Due  account  must  be  taken  of  the  position  of  the  sand  banks;  of  the 
waters  of  the  Bitter  Lakes  preventing  attack  from  the  north  ;  of  the 
receding  tide ;  of  the  effect  of  the  wind  in  hardening  the  surface  of 
the  sand ;  of  the  protection  on  the  south  afforded  by  the  main  waters 
of  the  sea ;  of  the  effect  on  the  sand  of  the  trampling  of  so  many  feet ; 
of  the  difficulties  of  crossing  in  the  face  of  the  strong  wind  ;  and  of 
the  suddenness  with  which  the  waves  would  return,  when  the  re- 
straining wind  was  removed.  All  these  b^ong  to  the  natural  agencies 
employed  to  work  out  the  Divine  purposes,  and  they  are  adequate  to 
produce  the  results  narrated,  without  assuming  anything  of  a  super- 
natural character. 

But  while  so  much  may  be  admitted,  there  are  some  parts  of  the 
narrative  which  cannot  be  explained  by  any  suggestions  in  the  line 
of  human  experiences,  and  must  be  traced  to  immediate  Divine 
intervention  and  arrangement  of  an  unusual  and  miraculous 
character.  The  fitting  of  events  to  times ;  the  cloud,  bright  towards 
Israel,  and  dark  towards  the  Egyptians ;  the  connection  of  natural 
events  with  Divine  command,  especially  strike  us  as  indications  of 
the  immediate  working  of  God  ;  though  the  general  impression  of  the 
whole  story  is  certainly  an  impression  of  God's  working  within,  rather 
than/;w«  beyond,  the  Nature-sphere.  The  deliverance  of  Israel  was 
a  remarkable  instance  of  'special  providence.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  gives  a  description  of  the  scene,  which  we  can 
generally  approve,  though  we  should  otherwise  explain  some  of  the 
details.  He  says  :  *  Ebb  and  flood  tide,  in  the  narrow  northern  ford 
especially,  are  affected  greatly  by  the  wind  prevailing  at  any  given 
time.  When  it  blows  strongly  from  the  north-east,  which  it  often 
does,  the  waters  are  driven  south,  into  the  bay,  on  the  west  shore, 
leaving  four  islets  stretching  in  a  line  north  from  Suez,  and  separated 
from  the  firm  land,  and  from  each  other,  by  narrow  but  deep 
channels.  Near  these  is  the  upper  ford,  which  can  be  passed  on 


476     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

foot  ,it  the  lowest  ebb,  by  those  well  acquainted  with  the  ground. 
The  other,  to  the  south,  bends  northward  towards  this  one,  but  its 
length  makes  it  less  used.  The  waters  appear  to  have  reached  a 
little  further  east  and  north  at  the  time  of  the  Exodus  than  they  do 
at  present ;  but  either  of  these  lines  of  sand  bank  may  have  been 
used,  under  the  guidance  and  miraculous  aid  of  God.  The  night  set 
in  dark  and  stormy,  with  a  violent  north-east  gale  which  blew  all  night, 
and  drove  the  waters  before  it,  at  ebb  tide,  into  the  south-west  bay, 
till  the  sandy  ridge  of  the  ford  was  laid  bare  :  the  shore  waters  thus 
becoming  a  wall,  or  protection,  to  the  Hebrews  on  the  right,  and 
those  of  the  open  sea  on  the  left  hand.  The  storm  prolonging  the 
ebb,  delayed  the  flow  of  the  tide,  and  thus  before  morning,  the  whole 
of  the  Hebrews — here,  going  round  pools,  there,  kept  back  by  the 
tempest,  and  by  the  slow  progress  of  the  cattle — were  able  to  reach 
the  east  shore ;  after  a  long  and  slow  march,  aggravated  by  the  terrors 
of  the  night/ 

We  prefer,  however,  the  less  detailed,  but  more  suggestive,  note 
of  Canon  Rawlinson.  *  By  a  "  strong  east  wind  "  we  are  at  liberty  to 
understand  one  blowing  from  any  point  between  north-east  and 
south  east.  If  we  imagine  the  Bitter  Lakes  joined  to  the  Red  Sea  by 
a  narrow  and  shallow  channel,  and  a  south-east  wind  blowing  strongly 
up  this  channel  we  can  easily  conceive  that  the  water  in  the  Bitter  Lakes 
might  be  driven  northwards,  and  held  there,  while  the  natural  action 
of  the  ebb  tide  withdrew  the  Red  Sea  water  to  the  southward.  A 
portion  of  the  channel  might  in  this  way  have  been  left  dry,  and  have 
so  continued  until  the  wind  changed  and  the  tide  began  to  flow.' 

Note  on  the  figure  in  verse.  22. — The  notion  that  is  suggested  by  the 
pictures  in  our  older  Bibles,  of  heaped-up  and  foaming  waters  making 
walls  to  a  narrow  passage,  could  only  have  been  conceived  by  persons 
who  failed  to  understand  the  poetical  and  figurative  character  of  Bible 
language.  Anything  that  acts  as  a  protection  is  in  Scripture  called 
'a  wall.'  (Comp.  i  Sam.  xxv.  16;  Prov.  xviii.  n;  Isa.  xxvi.  i; 
Jer.  i.  18;  Nahum  iii.  8.)  All  that  we  need  understand  is  the 
defence  from  flank  attacks  by  the  Egyptians  which  was  afforded  by 
the  fact  that  deep  waters  were  both  on  the  right  and  on  the  left  of 
their  divinely  made  path.  The  Egyptians  were  compelled  to  come 
on  behind  them,  and  if  they  had  attacked,  the  soldiers  of  Israel  could 
have  kept  them  at  bay  until  the  whole  host  was  safely  across.  Kalisctts 
idea  that  on  this  occasion  the  '  water  gave  up  its  nature,  formed  with 
its  waves  a  strong  wall,  and  instead  of  streaming  like  a  fluid,  congealed 
into  a  hard  substance,'  has  been  properly  called  an  'instance  of 
turning  poetry  into  prose,  and  enslaving  one's  self  to  a  narrow 
literalism.' 


BALAAM'S  TRANCE.  477 

Balaam's  Trainee. 

NUMBERS  xxiv.  4  :  '  He  hath  said,  which  heard  the  words  of  God,  which  saw 
the  vision  of  the  Almighty,  falling  into  a  trance,  but  having  his  eyes  open.' 

Question. — Is  it  possible  for  us  to  distinguish  between  the  natural 
and  the  supernatural  in  this  account '/ 

Answer. — Probably  that  is  a  hopeless  task,  because  we  do  not 
know  the  character  or  the  extent  of  the  gifts  with  which  Balaam  was 
endowed.  We  cannot  hesitate  in  saying  that  there  are  natural  features, 
and  it  is  quite  certain  that  there  were  also  Divine  usings  and  over- 
rulings  ;  but  just  where  the  natural  ends  and  the  supernatural  begins, 
it  is  not  possible  to  decide. 

A  trance  must  be  classed  among  purely  natural  things.  There 
seems  to  be  a  marked  peculiarity  in  this  trance.  Usually  the  eyes 
are  shut ;  if  open,  they  do  not  see  things  actually  existing  around 
them.  In  this  case  the  eyes  were  open,  and  it  is  suggested  that  they 
were  actually  fixed  on  the  sight  of  the  tents  of  Israel.  In  the  trance 
which  takes  an  ecstatic  form,  the  person  is  lost  to  all  external  impres- 
sions, but  rapt  and  absorbed  in  some  object  of  the  imagination. 
'  Nervous  and  susceptible  persons  are  apt  to  be  thrown  into  these 
trances  under  the  influence  of  what  is  called  mesmerism.  There  is, 
for  the  most  part,  a  high  degree  of  mental  excitement.  The  patient 
utters  the  most  enthusiastic  and  fervid  expressions,  or  the  most 
earnest  warnings.  The  character  of  the  whole  frame  is  that  of  intense 
contemplative  excitement  He  believes  that  he  has  seen  wonderful 
visions  and  heard  singular  revelations.' 

1  Whatever  explanation  may  be  given  of  it,  it  is  true  of  many,  if  not 
of  most,  of  those  who  have  left  the  stamp  of  their  own  character  on 
the  religious  history  of  mankind,  that  they  have  been  liable  to  pass  at 
times  into  this  abnormal  state.  The  union  of  intense  feeling,  strong 
volition,  long-continued  thought  (the  conditions  of  all  wide  and  lasting 
influence),  aided  in  many  cases  by  the  withdrawal  from  the  lower  life 
of  the  support  which  is  needed  to  maintain  a  healthy  equilibrium, 
appears  to  have  been  more  than  the  "  earthly  vessel "  will  bear.  The 
words  which  speak  of"  an  ecstasy  of  adoration  "  are  often  literally  true. 
The  many  visions,  the  journey  through  the  heavens,  the  so-called 
epilepsy  of  Mahomet,  were  phenomena  of  this  nature.  Of  the  three 
great  mediaeval  teachers,  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas, 
and  Joannes  Scotus,  it  is  recorded  that  they  would  fall  into  the 
ecstatic  state,  remain  motionless,  seem  as  if  dead,  sometimes  for  a 
whole  day,  and  then,  returning  to  consciousness,  speak  as  if  they  had 
drunk  deep  of  Divine  mysteries/ 


478      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

The  words  *  into  a  trance '  have  no  equivalents  in  the  Hebrew,  but 
the  word  '  falling '  clear  involves  passing  into  an  unusual  mental  state. 
It  suggests  that  Balaam's  mind  and  mouth  were  taken  captive  by  God, 
and  used  for  His  purpose.  The  Speakers  Commentary  thinks  '  the 
word  "falling"  indicates  the  force  of  the  Divine  inspiration  over- 
powering the  seer,  as  Saul  was  overpowered,  and  stripped  of  his 
clothes  before  Samuel,  and  "  fell,"  "  lay  down  naked  all  that  day  and 
all  that  night."  The  faithful  prophets  of  the  Lord  do  not  appear  to 
have  been  subject  to  these  violent  illapses.  In  Balaam  and  in  Saul 
the  word  of  God  could  only  prevail  by  first  subduing  the  alien  will, 
and  overpowering  the  bodily  energies  which  the  will  ordinarily 
directs.' 

What  we  are  to  understand  is  that  Balaam  possessed  something 
which  answered  to  the  prophetic  gift.  This  was  usually  under  the 
control  of  his  own  will;  but  on  this  occasion  his  own  will  was  put 
aside,  and  he  was  made  the  subject  of  a  special  Divine  inspiration. 
In  this  case  we  have  no  mere  ecstasy  of  trance,  but  a  genuine  Divine 
commission  and  impulse. 

Restoring  the  Dead  Child. 

i  KINGS  xvii.  21  :  '  And  he  stretched  himself  upon  the  child  three  times,  and 
•cried  unto  the  Lord,  and  said,  O  L^rd  my  God,  I  pray  Thee,  let  this  child's  soul 
come  into  him  again.' 

Difficulty. — There  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  need  for  this 
personal  exertion  of  the  prophet,  if  he  depended  on  Divine  reviving  in 
•answer  to  prayer. 

Explanation. — We  have  allowed  ourselves  to  cherish  the  senti- 
ment that  a  miracle  is  a  Divine  intervention  distinct  from,  and  inde- 
pendent of,  all  human  and  natural  means  and  instrumentalities, 
^whereas  the  large  proportion  of  the  Scripture  miracles  are  simply  an 
unusual  fulness  and  promptness  of  Divine  benediction  resting  on 
human  means  and  instrumentalities.  They  are  God  working,  in  an 
astonishing  way,  within  the  system  of  things — of  causes  and  agencies 
— which  he  has  appointed  in  His  infinite  wisdom.  And,  very 
possibty,  an  enlarging  of  our  knowledge,  so  that  we  better  under- 
stand God's  sphere  of  operations,  will  show  us  that  even  the  most 
extraordinary  miracles  are  God  working  among,  and  by,  the  forces 
which  He  has  established,  rather  than  in  any  new  ways  beyond  or 
outside  them. 

How  would  we  try  to  restore  suspended  life?  Evidently  we 
should  aim  at  two  things,  restoration  of  bodily  warmth  and  revival 


RESTORING  THE  DEAD  CHILD.  479 

of  the  breathing  process.  Both  these  are  illustrated  by  the  means 
used  for  the  recovery  of  the  drowned.  Now  Elijah,  and  Elisha 
subsequently,  used  the  appropriate  means.  This  stretching  on  the 
body  was  designed  to  impart  natural  warmth.  Comparing  the  case 
recorded,  in  the  life  of  Elisha  (2  Kings  iv.  34),  we  may  assume  that 
*  mouth  was  put  to  mouth  '  in  order  to  breathe  living  breath  into  the 
lung.  Of  themselves  such  agencies  could  not  be  efficient  to  secure 
the  revival  of  life,  but  with  the  blessing  of  God  they  could  be.  No 
means  are  efficient  of  themselves ;  and  this  is  the  great  lesson  which 
we  have  to  learn  from  such  incidents.  God  is  the  efficient  power 
that  energizes  all  agencies  so  that  they  secure  the  ends  desired. 
Means  are  put  in  our  control,  and  the  use  of  them  at  once  illustrates 
and  cultures  character;  but  results  are  wholly  with  God,  and  He 
may,  if  He  please,  bless  our  instrumentality  to  the  restoring  of  life. 

There  have  been  cases  in  which,  after  every  ordinary  method  has 
been  tried  in  vain,  life  has  been  brought  back  by  the  inbreathing  of 
living  breath  and  the  impartation  of  natural  warmth. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  prayer  is  an  agency,  or  that  the  use 
of  means  and  efforts  in  connection  with  prayer  is  the  proper  expres- 
sion to  God  of  our  faith  in  Him  as  the  Prayer-hearer.  It  is  no  due 
honouring  of  God  to  pray,  and  then  idly  wait  until  He  works 
wonders.  True  honouring  of  God  lies  in  praying,  and  using  suitable 
instrumentalities,  in  the  assured  confidence  that  God  will  graciously 
work  His  wonders  through  the  instrumentalities.  It  is  the  law  of 
Divine  relations  with  men,  which  has  its  application  in  every  sphere, 
that  we  must  *  work  out  our  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,'  for  the 
very  reason  that  *  it  is  God  who  worketh  in  us  to  will  and  to  do  of 
His  good  pleasure.' 

Kitto  says  :  *  He  felt  the  true  mountain-moving  faith  heaving  strong 
within  him,  and  he  gave  it  unrestained  vent.  He  threw  himself  upon 
the  corpse,  as  if,  in  the  vehement  energy  of  his  will,  to  force  his  own 
life  into  it ;  and  he  cried,  with  mighty  and  resistless  urgency,  to  God, 
to  send  back  to  this  cold  frame  the  breath  He  had  taken.' 

A"«7,  and  other  writers,  think  that  Elijah's  action  was  taken,  '  not 
for  the  purpose  of  imparting  natural  warmth  to  revive  and  quicken 
the  dormant  physical  energies,  but  to  communicate  the  quickening 
power  of  God.'  But  it  may  fairly  be  urged  that  this  rather  adds  to 
than  relieves  the  difficulties  of  the  passage,  seeing  that  three  supreme 
efforts  are  represented  as  being  necessary. 

Dr.  H.  Allon  is  an  authority  for  the  assertion  that  'the  original 
Hebrew  does  not  explicitly  affirm  the  death  of  this  son,  but  only  his 
dying  condition,'  or  collapse. 


480      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
Dividing  the  Jordan. 

2  KINGS  ii.  8  :  '  And  Elijah  took  his  ma»tle,  and  wrapped  it  together,  and  smote 
the  waters,  and  they  were  divided  hither  and  thither,  so  that  they  two  went  over 
on  dry  ground.' 

Question. — How  does  this  miraculous  dividing  of  the  waters  differ 
from  that  which  occurred  in  the  time  of  Joshua  ?  (See  paragraph  on 
Josh.  Hi.  13,  1 6.) 

Answer. — This  is  in  one  sense  a  greater  miracle,  and  in  another 
sense  a  smaller  miracle.  The  sphere  is  smaller ;  it  was  wrought  in 
behalf  of  two  persons,  not  of  a  nation ;  the  river  was  in  its  ordinary 
condition,  and  not  in  flood ;  and  the  passage  only  needed  to  be  made 
for  the  few  moments  of  the  crossing.  But  it  is  a  greater  miracle, 
from  the  human  point  of  view,  because  it  seems  to  be  a  more  direct 
action  of  God,  apart  from  the  use  of  any  natural  agency  which  we 
can  conceive.  So  far  as  we  can  trace  the  position  of  the  crossing, 
there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  known  ford  at  the  spot ;  and 
no  suggestion  can  be  made  of  wind  or  earthquake  producing  the 
desired  effect.  All  signs  of  control  over  the  action  of  '  water '  strikes 
us,  in  a  very  impressive  way,  as  being  Divine ;  and  therefore  none  of 
our  Lord's  miracles  convince  us  more  of  His  Divine  power  and 
rights  than  His  l  stilling  the  storm '  and  '  walking  upon  the  waters.' 
Though  mentioned  in  quite  a  casual  way,  as  if  it  were  but  one  of  the 
incidents  of  this  most  extraordinary  day  in  the  prophet's  history,  there 
are  few  Old  Testament  miracles  which  so  fully  illustrate  what  may  be 
called  the  older  idea  of  miracle,  as  the  control  of  God  over  the 
forces  of  nature,  so  as  to  make  them  do  contrary  to  their  custom  in 
working  out  His  will.  Of  course  a  momentary  arrest  of  the  waters 
is  all  that  was  necessary,  as  the  lower  waters  would  swiftly  drain 
away,  and  the  bottom  of  the  swift-flowing  Jordan  is  stony,  not 
muddy.  But  this  sudden  stoppage  of  the  flowing  stream  is  precisely 
what  no  human  power  could  accomplish  in  a  moment ;  and  we  must 
fully  accept  it  as  an  immediate  Divine  intervention  on  behalf  of,  and 
as  a  witness  to,  his  faithful  servant. 

It  may  be  well  to  correct  the  exaggerated  notion  which  is 
commonly  entertained  concerning  the  width  and  depth  of  the  river 
Jordan.  American  travellers  especially  are  greatly  disappointed  with 
it,  after  the  magnificent  rivers  of  their  country,  and  it  will  not  even 
bear  comparison  with  the  larger  rivers  of  our  own  land.  Dr. 
Thomson  says  :  *  The  Jordan  would  scarcely  be  dignified  with  the 
name  of  river  in  America,  and  its  appearance  is,  in  reality,  quite  in- 
significant. Travellers  have  differed  widely  in  the  description  of  the 


THE  USE  OF  PROPHETIC  SIGNS.  481 

Jordan,  principally  from  two  causes — visiting  it  at  different  seasons 
of  the  year,  and  at  different  places.  When  and  where  I  saw  it,  the 
width  might  have  been  twenty  yards,  and  its  depth  ten  feet.'  Being 
the  principal  stream  of  Palestine,  the  Jordan  has  acquired  a  dis- 
tinction much  greater  than  its  geographical  importance  could  have 
given  it. 

The  Use  of  Prophetic  Signs. 

i  SAMUEL  x.  7  :  'And  let  it  be,  when  these  signs  are  come  unto  thee,  that 
thou  do  as  occasion  serve  thee  ;  for  God  is  with  thee.'  (See  ver.  1-6.) 

Question. —  What  precise  object  had  Samuel  in  view  in  thus  fore- 
telling the  incidents  of  the  day  ? 

Answer. — We  may  be  sure  that  he  wanted  to  convince  the  new 
king  that  what  he  had  done  had  been  done  under  Divine  direction, 
and  consequently  that  Saul  entered  on  his  office  with  assurance  of 
Divine  favour  and  acceptance.  Samuel  acted  in  his  capacity  as  a 
Seer,  one  who  could  anticipate  coming  events.  The  accordance  of 
the  events  with  the  foretelling  satisfied  Saul  that  Samuel  had  acted  on 
authority. 

Jamieson  says  :  '  The  design  of  these  specific  predictions  of  what 
should  be  met  with  on  the  way,  and  the  number  and  minuteness  of 
which  would  arrest  attention,  was  to  confirm  Saul's  reliance  on  the 
prophetic  character  of  Samuel,  and  lead  him  to  give  full  credence  to 
what  had  been  revealed  to  him  as  the  word  of  God.' 

But  there  was  a  further  object,  and  one  more  directly  bearing  on 
the  future  of  the  new.  king.  He  was  to  receive  a  special  endowment 
for  his  kingship,  and  the  connection  of  the  coming  of  this  spiritual 
power  with  foregoing  prophecy  compelled  Saul  to  recognise  it  as  a 
Divine  endowment.  But  for  this  close  association  with  the  words  of 
Jehovah's  prophet,  it  would  have  been  easy  for  him  to  think,  and  for 
men  to  say,  that  he  was  only  caught  up,  and  carried  away,  by  the 
enthusiasm  and  ecstasy  of  the  company  he  joined. 

The  supremely  important  event  of  the  day  was  '  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  coming  upon  him,'  as  prophesied  in  verse  6  ;  and  the  other 
signs  did  but  magnify  this  sign,  and  help  to  convince  Saul  that  he  had 
the  Divine  grace  for  reigning,  as  well  as  the  Divine  call  to  be 
king. 

To  impress  this  further  point,  it  may  be  well  to  show  what  must 
be  understood  by  this  '  turning  Saul  into  another  man.'  The 
Speaker's  Commentary  note  is  very  suggestive.  '  The  expression  is  a 
remarkable  one,  and  occurs  nowhere  else.  Doubtless  it  describes 

31 


482      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

the  change  in  point  of  mental  power  and  energy  which  would  result 
from  the  influx  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.  In  the  case  of  Samson  it 
was  a  supernatural  bodily  strength,  in  the  case  of  Saul  a  capacity  for 
ruling  and  leading  the  people  of  which  he  was  before  destitute,  which 
the  Spirit  wrought  in  him.  The  change  in  the  mental  power  of  the 
Apostles,  as  described  in  Acts  i.  8,  is  analogous.  Compare  Isaiah  xi. 
2-4.  The  change  is  described  in  verse  9  by  saying  that  "  God  gave 
him  another  heart."  The  heart  in  the  Hebrew  acceptation  points 
more  to  intellect  and  courage  than  to  the  affections  and  conscience.' 

Kitto  says  :  '  It  will  occur  to  most  readers,  that  although  these 
words  describe  Saul  as  being  turned  into  another  man,  they  do  not 
declare  that  he  was  turned  into  a  new  one ;  and  although  they  have 
reference  to  a  lesser  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  than  His  regenerating 
and  sanctifying  work,  they  are  remarkably  typical  or  adumbrative  of 
that  larger  and  greater  work  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man.  It  is 
observable  that  this  coming  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  Saul,  and 
turning  him  into  another  man,  was  properly  his  introduction  to  the 
kingdom,  and  constituted  his  fitness  for  it.  It  was  the  proper  sequel 
to  and  completion  of  the  operation  commenced  by  his  anointing,  and 
by  it  he  acquired  all  the  fitness  he  ever  possessed  for  the  kingdom.' 

Canon  Spence  takes  the  view  that  the  three  prophetic  signs  were 
designed  to  be  precisely  instructive  to  the  new  king,  in  relation  to  his 
future  work  ;  and  this  view  cannot  be  so  well  presented  as  in  Canon 
Spence's  own  words : 

'  Each  of  these  tokens,  which  were  to  strengthen  the  young  Saul's 
faith,  contained  a  solemn  lesson,  the  deep  meaning  of  which,  as  his 
life  went  on,  the  future  sovereign  would  be  able  to  ponder  over. 
Each  of  the  three  signs  from  heaven  met  him  at  one  of  the  sacred 
spots  which  were  so  plentifully  dotted  over  these  southern  districts  of 
Canaan,  memorable  for  the  life-stories,  first  of  Abraham  and  the 
patriarchs,  and  then  of  the  warrior-chieftains  of  the  Israel  of  the  con- 
quest. The  selection  of  localities  famous  as  homes  of  prayer,  or 
sacred  as  the  resting-place  of  the  illustrious  dead,  taught  the  eternal 
truth  that  "  help  comes  from  the  holy  place."  At  the  sepulchre  of 
Rachel,  the  loved  ancestress  of  the  warlike  tribe  of  Benjamin,  to 
which  the  new  king  belonged,  men  should  meet  him  on  his  home- 
ward journey  with  the  news  that  the  lost  asses  which  he  had  gone  to 
seek  were  found  again.  This  showed  him  that  henceforth  in  his  new 
life  he  was  to  dismiss  all  lower  cares,  and  give  himself  up  alone  to 
higher  and  more  important  matters.  A  king  must  take  counsel  and 
thought  for  the  weal  of  a  whole  people  ;  he  must  put  aside  now  and 
for  ever  all  consideration  for  himself  and  his  family,  all  anxiety 


THE  USE  OF  PROPHETIC  SIGNS.  483 

for  the  mere  ordinary  prosperity  of  life.  God,  who  had  chosen  him, 
would  provide  for  these  things,  as  He  had  now  done  in  the  case  of 
the  lost  asses.  Further  on  in  his  journey,  when  he  reached  the  tere- 
binth-tree of  Tabor,  three  men  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  great  Beth-el 
sanctuary  would  meet  him,  and  would  offer  him  some  of  the  loaves 
which  they  proposed  offering  at  Beth-el.  The  significance  of  this 
peculiar  gift  was  that  some  portion  of  the  products  of  the  soil,  which 
had  hitherto  been  appropriated  exclusively  to  the  service  and  support 
of  the  sanctuary,  in  future  should  be  devoted  to  the  maintenance  of 
the  anointed  of  the  Lord.  The  third  sign  which  he  should  perceive 
would  meet  him  as  he  approached  his  home,  which  was  situated  near 
a  famous  holy  place  of  prayer,  known  as  the  "  Gibeah,"  or  "  Hill  of 
God."  A  number  of  prophets  belonging  to  one  of  the  "  schools  "  of 
the  prophets  founded  by  Samuel,  coming  from  the  altar  on  the  "  Hill 
of  God,"  where  sacrifice  had  just  been  offered,  would  meet  him. 
They  would  be  plunged  in  prophetic  raptures  ;  he  would  hear  them 
chanting  hymns  to  the  Eternal,  accompanied  by  the  music  of  their 
instruments.  A  new  and  mighty  influence,  Samuel  told  the  astonished 
Saul,  would,  as  he  met  this  company  of  singers,  come  upon  him,  and 
involuntarily  he,  who  evidently  had  never  joined  before  in  any  of 
these  solemn  choruses,  would  sing  his  part  with  the  rest  The  new 
influence,  said  the  old  Seer,  which  would  then  come  upon  him 
would  be  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  from  that  moment  he  would  be 
a  changed  man.  Never  in  his  after-days  of  glory  and  of  might  was 
the  king  to  forget  how,  in  a  moment,  the  Divine  power  had  swept 
down  and  given  him — the  ignorant  shepherd,  the  humble  vine- 
dresser, the  heir  to  a  few  asses  and  sheep,  to  some  fields  of  corn  or 
vineyards — wisdom,  power,  and  a  mighty  kingdom.  He  must  re 
member  that,  in  a  moment,  the  same  Divine  power  might  wing  awaj 
from  him  its  solemn  flight ;  that  was  the  lesson  of  the  third  sign 
which  was  to  meet  him  on  his  homeward  journey.' 

The   Revelation    of  the  Blazing  but   Unconsumed 

Bush. 

EXODUS  iii.  2  :  '  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  a  flame  ot 
fire  out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush  :  and  he  looked,  and  behold  the  bush  burned  with 
fire,  and  the  bush  was  not  consumed.' 

Question. —  Was  this  merely  designed  to  draw  the  attention  of 
Moses;  or  may  we  regard  it  as  a  revelation  of  God  in  His  relationship 
to  His  enslaved  people  ? 

Answer. — It  is  much  too  remarkable  and  too  impressive  a  scene 
to  be  regarded  only  as  a  call  of  Moses  to  attention.  It  is  hardly 


484      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

possible  to  conceive  of  a  more  impressive  symbol  of  the  condition 
of  the  people  in  Egypt  than  is  afforded  by  the  bank  of  bushes  burn- 
ing with  fire ;  and  nothing  could  more  effectively  convince  of  the 
Divine  care  than  the  observed  fact  that,  though  the  blaze  was  fierce, 
the  bushes  were  not  consumed.  The  outward  symbol  prepared  for 
the  Divine  communication.  There  was  a  future  before  the  nation 
that  was  kept  safe  amid  the  bondages  and  hardships  of  the  Egyptian 
rule.  God  was  keeping  it,  and,  in  His  own  good  time,  the  *  Keeper  ' 
could  and  would  deliver. 

The  scene  has  been  thus  described,  so  as  to  bring  out  its  points  of 
special  interest :  '  Moses  had  followed  his  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats 
as  they  sought  the  aromatic  shrubs  on  the  ledges  of  the  rocks,  or  in 
the  folds  of  the  narrow  valley  or  by  the  side  of  chance  springs ;  little 
thinking  to  what  they  were  leading  him.  The  wild  acacia,  the  senek 
of  the  Hebrew  Bible — a  gnarled  and  thorny  tree,  not  unlike  our 
solitary  hawthorn  in  its  growth — dotted  the  bare  slopes  and  the 
burning  soil  of  the  ravines.  But  now,  suddenly,  a  glow  of  flame, 
like  that  which  was  consuming  Israel  in  the  furnace  of  affliction, 
shines  forth  amidst  the  dry  branches  of  one  of  those  before  him,  and 
yet,  as  he  gazes,  "the  bush,"  though  "it  burned  with  fire,"  was  not 
consumed.  Drawing  near  to  "  see  this  great  sight,"  a  voice,  which 
he  instinctively  recognises  as  Divine,  sounds  from  its  midst,  com- 
manding him  to  remove  his  sandals  as  on  holy  ground ;  revealing 
new  and  closer  relations  of  God  to  His  chosen  people,  and  imposing 
on  the  awed  shepherd '  the  work  of  bringing  the  people  out  of  the 
fires. 

Keble  expresses  the  message  of  the  unconsuming  bush  thus : 

*  And  hark !  amid  the  flashing  fire, 
Mingling  with  tones  of  fear  and  ire, 

Soft  Mercy's  undersong — 
'Tis  Abraham's  God  who  speaks  so  loud, 
His  people's  cry  have  pierc'd  the  cloud, 

He  sees,  He  sees  their  wrong.' 

Jamieson,  supporting  the  symbolical  view  of  the  burning  bush, 
says  :  *  It  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  emblematic  of  the 
Israelites'  condition  in  Egypt — oppressed  by  a  grinding  servitude 
and  a  bloody  persecution,  and  yet,  in  spite  of  the  cruel  policy  that 
was  bent  on  annihilating  them,  they  continued  as  numerous  and 
thriving  as  ever.  The  reason  was,  "God  was  in  the  midst  of 
them."' 


FALLEN  DAGON.  485 

Fallen  Dagon. 

I  SAMUEL  v.  3  :  'And  when  they  of  Ashdod  arose  early  on  the  morrow,  behold, 
Dagon  was  fallen  upon  his  face  to  the  ground  before  the  ark  of  the  Lord.  And 
they  took  Dagon,  and  set  him  in  his  place  again  '  (Rev.  Ver.}. 

Question. —  Would  not  such  an  incident  tend  to  give  the  Philistines 
a  wrong  idea  of  Jehovah,  as  if  He  were  really  present  in  the  Ark  ? 

Answer. — This  is  one  of  the  cases  which  must  be  studied  strictly 
in  the  light  of  the  sentiments  and  superstitions  of  the  times.  It  has 
been  pointed  out  that  *  revelation'  must  always  be  *  accommodation'; 
it  must  be  God  graciously  adapting  Himself  to  the  spheres  of 
knowledge,  and  to  the  everyday  associations,  of  those  whom  He 
would  teach.  Jehovah,  in  this  case,  is  adapting  Himself  to  these 
.Philistines,  so  that  He  might  become  a  power  and  persuasion  upon 
them.*  He  is  meeting  them  on  their  own  level.  He  is  convincing 
them  of  His  superiority,  by  making  their  idol-god  bow  down  before 
the  symbol  of  His  presence.  The  image  symbolized  their  god;  and 
the  Ark  symbolized  Jehovah.  The  relations  of  the  symbols  at  once 
suggested  the  supreme  and  unique  claims  of  Jehovah.  This  is  a  case 
of  symbol-teaching,  or,  as  we  say,  picture-teaching.  And  it  illustrates 
the  Divine  control  of  forces  that,  though  natural,  are  beyond  our 
experience,  and  so  by  us  must  be  called  '  supernatural.' 

Layard  tells  that,  in  one  of  the  bas-reliefs  discovered  at  Khorsabad, 
and  representing  the  war  of  an  Assyrian  king — probably  Sargon — 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  of  Syria,  a  figure  is  seen  swimming 
in  the  sea,  with  the  upper  part  of  the  body  resembling  a  bearded 
man  wearing  the  ordinary  conical  tiara  of  royalty,  adorned  with 
elephants'  tusks,  and  the  lower  part  resembling  the  body  of  a  fish. 
It  has  the  hand  lifted  up,  as  if  in  astonishment  or  fear,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  fishes,  crabs,  and  other  marine  animals.  Keil  thinks  this 
must  be  a  representation  of  the  Philistine  Dagon :  '  This  deity  was 
a  personification  of  the  generative  and  vivifying  principle  of  nature, 
for  which  the  fish,  with  its  innumerable  multiplication,  was  specially 
adapted,  and  set  forth  the  idea  of  the  Giver  of  all  earthly  good.' 

Up  to  this  point  the  Philistines  had  triumphed  over  the  Israelites ; 
or  we  may  say  that  Dagon  had  been  allowed  for  a  time  to  triumph 
over  Jehovah.  But  now  Jehovah  must  vindicate  Himself.  Philis- 
tines had  been  used  by  Him  as  executors  of  His  judgments  on  His 
sinful  people ;  but  Philistines  must  be  taught  not  to  presume :  they 
must  learn  that  even  they  could  only  win  successes  by  the  permissions 
of  the  one  and  only  true  God,  before  whom  their  very  idol  must  bow. 
They  must  see  him  lie  in  the  attitude  of  a  vanquished  enemy  and  a 


486      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

suppliant,  and  this  picture  of  humiliation  significantly  declared  the 
superiority  of  the  God  of  Israel. 

Bishop  Wordsworth  says :  *  Dagon,  in  his  own  temple,  fell  down 
like  a  prisoner  before  his  conqueror,  or  like  a  suppliant  before  his  god.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie,  regarding  the  Ark  as  one  of  the  spoils  of  war,  says  : 
1  But  such  spoils  were  held  even  then,  by  not  a  few,  as  of  doubtful 
value ;  the  thoughtful  fearing  that  the  hatred  and  vengeance  of  the 
god  so  insulted  might  be  visited  on  his  captors.  Thus  the  wiser 
among  the  Romans  criticised  the  conduct  of  Marcellus,  who  first 
brought  Grecian  statues  and  pictures  of  the  gods  to  their  city  to  adorn 
his  triumph ;  thinking  better  of  the  course  followed  by  Fabius,  who, 
in  taking  Tarentum,  had  told  his  army  to  leave  to  the  Tarentines  the 
gods  offended  with  them.7 

Deaths  of  the  Sacrilegious. 

LEVITICUS  x.  i,  2  :  'And  Nadab  and  Abihu,the  sons  of  Aaron,  took  each  of  them 
his  censer,  and  put  fire  therein,  and  laid  incense  thereon,  and  offered  strange  fire 
before  the  Lord,  which  He  had  not  commanded  them.  And  there  came  forth  fire 
from  before  the  Lord,  and  devoured  them,  and  they  died  before  the  Lord  '(Rev.  Ver. ). 

NUMBERS  xvi.  31-33  :  *  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  made  an  end  of  speaking  all 
these  words,  that  the  ground  clave  asunder  that  was  under  them :  and  the  earth 
opened  her  mouth,  and  swallowed  them  up,  and  their  households,  and  all  the  men 
that  appertained  unto  Korah,  and  all  their  goods.  So  they,  and  all  that  appertained 
to  them,  went  down  alive  into  the  pit ;  and  the  earth  closed  upon  them,  and  they 
perished  from  among  the  assembly '  (Rev.  Ver. ). 

Difficulty. — These  destructions  seem  to  be  extraordinarily  severe ', 
especially  in  that  they  included  the  innocent  with  the  guilty. 

Explanation. — Neither  of  these  incidents  can  be  rightly  under- 
stood unless  we  distinctly  realize  that  God  was  the  actual  King  and 
Ruler  of  Israel,  as  directly  ordering,  judging,  legislating,  rewarding,  as 
if,  in  bodily  person,  He  was  seated  on  a  throne.  Our  notions  of  God 
make  it  very  difficult  for  us  to  enter  into  the  thought  of  God  that 
possessed  the  Israelite  race.  To  them  He  was  General  of  the  army, 
King  of  the  nation,  and  supreme  Judge  for  all  civil  and  criminal 
cases. 

We  may  therefore  take  analogies  from  the  methods  which  Eastern 
kings  find  it  necessary  to  adopt.  And  two  things  are  essential  to 
vigorous  and  secure  rule  :  (i)  sufficient  severity  in  judgment  to  duly 
impress  spectators,  and  declare  the  king's  estimate  of  the  sin ;  and 
(2)  prompt  and  effective  crushing  out  of  all  incipient  rebellions 
Both  of  these  are  illustrated  in  the  cases  before  us  ;  and  the  miracu- 
lous form  which,  in  each  case,  the  judgment  took,  only  served  to 
impress  the  fact  that  their  unseen  King  possessed  a  direct  executive 


DEATHS  OF  THE  SACRILEGIOUS.  487 

power,  and  the  control  of  forces  which  were  wholly  beyond  then 
understanding.  A  wholesome  fear  was  thus  created,  which  would 
check  self-willedness,  and  help  to  the  maintaining  of  obedience. 

We  have  here  mainly  to  do  with  the  miraculous  features  of  the 
deaths.  In  the  case  of  Nadab  and  Abihu  there  appears  to  have  been 
a  more  strictly  supernatural  agency.  The  shekinah  light  seems  to 
have  flashed  forth  from  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  smitten  the  two 
priests  with  instant  death.  We  can  only  compare  the  effect  to  that  pro- 
duced by  a  lightning  flash.  It  was,  as  it  were,  the  stroke  of  the 
insulted  and  indignant  King.  In  the  case  of  Korah,  and  his  com- 
panions, there  was  an  incipient  rebellion  against  the  unseen  King,  and 
this  must  be  dealt  with  at  once,  and  strongly,  for  the  rebellious  spirit 
is  wont  to  spread  very  swiftly.  It  must  be  dealt  with  in  such  a  way 
as  would  convince  the  people  that  the  unseen  King  took  the  matter 
into  His  own  hands,  and  vindicated  His  rights  by  the  use  of  forces, 
in  the  execution  of  His  judgments,  which  were  strictly  in  His  own 
control. 

On  the  severity  of  the  judgment  that  fell  on  Nadab  and  Abihu, 
Kitto  says  :  '  It  was  necessary.  At  any  time  the  offence  would  have 
been  very  grievous  ;  but  at  this  time,  when  the  ritual  service  was  so 
newly  established,  and  just  coming  into  regular  operation,  such  an 
infraction  of  it  by  the  very  persons  whose  official  charge  it  was  to 
maintain  its  sacredness,  demanded  a  most  rigid  punishment,  even  a 
miraculous  interposition,  to  protect  the  sacred  service,  and  indeed 
the  whole  law,  from  that  disesteem  on  the  part  of  the  people  which 
might  naturally  have  resulted  from  it,  if  it  had  been  passed  over 
without  the  severest  notice.' 

On  the  second  case  Ewald  has  the  following  very  valuable  and 
suggestive  note  :  *  The  cause  of  the  insurrection  of  Korah,  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  and  of  the  elders  Dathan,  Abiram,  and  On,  of  the 
tribe  of  Reuben,  with  their  two  hundred  and  fifty  followers,  appears 
very  clearly  to  have  been  a  low  jealousy  of  the  prophetical  supremacy 
of  Moses,  and  of  the  priestly  power  of  Aaron,  founded  upon  an  over- 
strained interpretation  of  the  nature  of  the  community  as  just  then 
set  forth  by  Moses  ;  implying  that  from  the  newly  promulgated  idea 
that  the  community  was  to  be  holy  and  the  seat  of  Jahveh,  it  followed 
that  the  individual  was  already  holy  and  perfect,  and  consequently 
had  no  need  of  any  earthly  guidance,  priestly  or  other.  Undoubtedly 
every  age,  which  like  the  Mosaic  first  brings  strongly  to  light  the 
highest  truths  respecting  the  idea  of  the  community,  must  contain 
also  within  its  bosom  a  multitude  of  misunderstandings  and  excesses, 
false  imitations  and  vain  pretensions,  as  the  histories  of  the  first  ages 


488      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

of  Christianity  and  of  Islam  abundantly  teach  us.  The  occurrence  of 
a  mutiny  based  upon  views  so  strange  might  even  be  adduced  as  a 
fresh  proof  that  those  exalted  views  respecting  the  nature  of  the  com- 
munity were  at  that  time  vividly  felt  and  widely  spread.  The  fact 
that  from  the  tribe  of  Reuben  three  elders  rose  up  in  jealousy  against 
the  new  power  of  Levi,  although  themselves  obliged  to  seek  a  Levite 
as  their  confederate,  agrees  very  well  with  the  earliest  history  of  the 
twelve  tribes.  But  certainly  there  is  nothing  intrinsically  more 
dangerous  and  reprehensible  than  the  employment  of  such  exalted 
truths  for  selfish  ends,  and  the  abuse  of  such  freedom  as  a  cloak  for 
personal  ambition,  lawlessness,  and  dissolution  of  all  order,  as  if  the 
holiest  things  given  to  man  could  be  trifled  with  with  impunity. 
Against  those  who  thus  seek  to  use  holy  truths  and  blessings  merely 
as  a  means  of  universal  corruption,  the  Holy  itself  turns  round  and 
becomes  their  instantaneous  destruction.' 

A  careful  study  of  the  narrative  leads  to  the  assumption  that  Korah 
and  his  company  died  by  fire  coming  out  from  the  Holy  of  Holies, 
just  as  Nadab  and  Abihu  died  \  and  that  the  opening  of  the  earth, 
and  sudden  engulphing,  refers  only  to  the  Reubenites,  who  stood  at 
their  tent-doors,  apparently  in  a  spirit  of  contumacious  defiance. 

The  Coming  of  Elijah. 

MALACHI  iv.  5  :  '  Behold,  I  will  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet  before  the  great 
and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord  come '  (Rev.  Ver.\ 

Question. — Is  it  reasonable  to  regard  this  promise  as  an  assurance 
of  the  return  to  the  earth  of  the  actual  Elijah  ? 

Answer. — Not  if  we  apprehend  the  figurative  and  poetical 
character  of  the  prophetical  Scriptures.  One  who  would  do  for  his 
age  a  similar  work  to  that  which  was  done  by  Elijah  for  his  age 
would,  in  Scripture,  be  called  an  Elijah.  Moreover,  we  have  our 
Lord's  own  intimation  that  John  Baptist  fulfilled  this  promise.  *  If 
ye  will  receive  it,  this  is  Elias,  which  was  for  to  come.'  There  is  no 
occasion  whatever  for  imagining  that  any  miraculous  re-appearance  of 
Elijah  was  in  the  mind  of  Malachi,  or  a  part  of  his  prophetic  message. 
The  Jews  overpressed  a  literal  interpretation,  and  to  this  day  they 
earnestly  pray  for  the  coming  of  Elias,  which,  they  assume,  will  imme- 
diately precede  the  appearance  of  Messiah. 

*  Elijah  was  the  prophet  for  whose  return  in  later  years  his  country- 
men have  looked  with  most  eager  hope.  ...  It  was  a  fixed  belief  of 
the  Jews  that  he  had  appeared  again  and  again,  as  an  Arabian  mer- 
chant, to  wise  and  good  rabbis  at  their  prayers  or  on  their  journeys. 


MIRACULOUS  SIGNS.  489 

A  seat  is  still  placed  for  him  to  superintend  the  circumcision  of  the 
Jewish  children.  Passover  after  passover,  the  Jews  of  our  own  day  place 
the  paschal  cup  on  the  table,  and  set  the  door  wide  open,  believing 
that  that  is  the  moment  when  Elijah  will  reappear.  When  goods  are 
found,  and  no  owner  comes ;  when  difficulties  arise,  and  no  solution 
appears,  the  answer  is  "  Put  them  by  till  Elijah  comes." ' — Dean 
Stanley. 

Our  Lord's  teaching  is,  for  us,  an  ail-sufficing  commentary  on  the 
intentions  and  meanings  of  the  allusion  to  Elijah  found  in  Malachi. 
'  And  they  asked  Him,  saying,  The  Scribes  say  that  Elijah  must  first 
come.  And  He  said  unto  them,  Elijah  indeed  cometh  first  and 
restoreth  all  things  :  and  how  is  it  written  of  the  Son  of  man,  that  He 
should  suffer  many  things  and  be  set. at  nought  ?  But  I  say  unto  you, 
that  Elijah  is  come,  and  they  have  also  done  unto  him  whatsoever 
they  listed,  even  as  it  is  written  of  him '  (Mark  ix.  11-13,  Rev.  Ver.) 

Miraculous  Signs. 

EXODUS  iv.  2,  3,  6  :  '  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  What  is  that  in  thine  hand  ? 
And  he  said,  A  rod.  And  he  said,  Cast  it  on  the  ground.  And  he  cast  it  on  the 
ground,  and  it  became  a  serpent ;  and  Moses  fled  from  before  it.'  '  And  the  Lord 
said  furthermore  unto  him,  Put  now  thine  hand  into  thy  bosom.  And  he  put  his 
hand  into  his  bosom  ;  and  when  he  took  it  out,  behold,  his  hand  was  leprous  as 
snow.' 

Question. — May  we  regard  these  signs  as  illustrating  the  use  of 
miracles  as  the  credentials  of  a  person,  rather  than  evidences  of  the  truth 
of  the  message  he  delivers  f 

Answer. — They  were  plainly  wrought  for  the  convincement  and 
satisfaction  of  Moses  himself,  and  so  far  may  be  said  to  resemble  the 
signs  granted  to  Gideon,  Hezekiah,  etc.  The  hesitation  of  Moses  to 
accept  the  Divine  commission  was  natural  and  sincere,  though  wrong. 
It  was  very  gracious  of  God  so  patiently  to  bear  with  his  infirmity, 
and  encourage  him  to  undertake  the  charge.  Moses  had  not  quite 
got  over  the  sense  of  failure  which  came  when  he  attempted  to  cham- 
pion the  Hebrews,  and  was  compelled  to  flee  for  his  own  life.  It 
was  hardly  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Pharaoh  would  heed  a  verbal 
message  from  a  desert  shepherd,  even  if  he  granted  that  shepherd 
royal  audience.  Moses  would  be  in  peril  of  being  rejected,  and 
even  put  to  death  as  an  impostor. 

God  graciously  intimated  that  Moses  should  be  endowed  with 
miraculous  powers,  and  enabled  to  do  such  mighty  works  as  would 
demand  public  attention  to  his  message,  and  secure  his  personal 
safety,  by  creating  a  superstitious  fear  of  him.  But  it  was  necessary 
to  give  Moses  some  idea  of  what  the  miraculous  power  would  be ; 


400     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

and  the  two  miracles — of  the  rod  and  the  leprosy — were  types  or 
specimens  of  the  kinds  of  miracles  he  would  be  enabled  to  work. 
They  convinced  Moses  that  God  would  be  with  him,  and  the  power 
of  God  would  work  through  him.  Or,  rather,  they  should  have  con- 
vinced him,  for  it  is  painful  to  observe  that  even  after  such  Divine 
encouragements,  he  resists  the  acceptance  of  the  Divine  charge.  It  is 
never  true  humility  to  refuse  any  duty  to  which  God  plainly  calls  us. 
On  these  verses  Canon  Rawlinson  says  :  '  The  words  give  Divine 
sanction  to  the  view,  so  strangely  combated  of  late,  that  the  power 
of  working  miracles  is  given  to  men,  primarily  and  mainly,  for  its 
evidential  value,  to  accredit  them  as  God's  messengers.  Without 
the  gift  of  miracles  neither  would  Moses  have  persuaded  the 
Israelites,  nor  would  the  Apostles  have  converted  the  world.' 

The  Vision  of  the  Captain  of  the  Host. 

JOSHUA  v.  13  :  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Joshua  was  by  Jericho,  that  he  lifted 
up  his  eyes  and  looked,  and,  behold,  there  stood  a  man  over  against  him  with  his 
sword  drawn  in  his  hand  :  and  Joshua  went  unto  him,  and  said  unto  him,  Art  thou 
for  us,  or  for  our  adversaries  ?' 

Question. — Is  this  to  be  regarded  as  a  mental  vision  f  And  tf  so, 
onght  visions  to  be  classed  among  miracles  ? 

Answer. — It  is  well  to  distinguish  between  miracles  and  visions, 
as  differing  methods  in  which  the  Divine  Being  communicates  His 
will  to  men;  for  miracles  are  quite  as  essentially  'revelations'  as 
visions  are.  The  term  '  miracles  '  should  be  kept  for  special  Divine 
operations  in  the  sphere  of  nature.  The  term  'visions  should  be 
used  for  special  Divine  operations  in  the  sphere  of  mind.  But  both 
may  be  called  '  miracles,'  if  by  that  term  we  understand  direct,  and 
unusual,  Divine  interventions  and  operations. 

We  understand  the  scene  here  narrated  to  be  a  mental  vision,  and 
that  what  Joshua  really  saw  in  his  mind,  he  thought  of  as  if  it  were 
an  objective  reality.  Perhaps  the  incident  with  which  it  may  be  best 
compared,  is  the  vision  given  to  Paul  on  the  way  to  Damascus, 
though  that  was  accompanied  with  a  flashing  light  which  Paul's  com- 
panions saw.  Paul  alone  saw  Jesus,  or  heard  the  voice. 

If  we  understand  that  an  actual  form  appeared  before  the  bodily 
eyes  of  Joshua,  and  actual  words  were  heard  by  his  bodily  ears,  then 
we  may  compare  this  case  with  the  angel  appearances  to  Abraham, 
Gideon,  Manoah,  etc.  Probably  a  fuller  understanding  of  the 
mysteries  of  the  human  mind,  and  its  power  of  creating  scenes  which 
seem  to  itself  to  have  external  reality — the  power  of  the  imagination 


SAFETY  IN  A  FIER  Y  fURNA CE.  491 

to  convince  itself  of  the  reality  of  its  imaginings — would  allow  us  at 
once  to  class  Joshua's  experience  among  '  mental  visions.'  God  can 
just  as  truly  and  as  fully  use  those  powers  of  mind  which  He  has 
Himself  given,  as  the  powers  of  nature  which  He  has  Himself  created. 
His  agency  may  be  direct  upon  mind;  it  need  not  always  be 
mediate,  through  the  senses.  And  there  are  what  we  may  call 
' mind-miracles  '  as  well  as  'nature-miracles.' 

The  commentators  agree  in  seeing  in  this  '  Captain  of  the  Host ' 
an  appearance  of  God  manifested  in  the  Person  of  His  Word — a 
foreshadowing  of  the  Incarnation.  But  it  strikes  an  independent 
reader  that  such  an  explanation  is  suggested  by  the  exigencies  of  a 
theological  system,  and  that  something  much  more  simple  will  meet 
all  the  necessities  of  the  cases. 

Dr.  C.  Stanford  writes  so  as  to  suggest  the  visionary  character  of 
the  scene  :  '  We  may  be  sure  that  this  hour  of  pause  was  to  their 
leader  an  hour  of  prayer.  ...  In  this  mood  he  went  forth  alone  to 
reconnoitre  the  place.  While  he  was  there  thinking  and  thinking, 
all  at  once  there  glimmered  in  the  twilight  over  against  him  the 
figure  of  *'  a  man  with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand." ' 

Safety  in  a  Fiery  Furnace. 

DANIEL  iii.  25  :  *  He  answered  and  said,  Lo,  I  see  four  men  loose,  walking  in 
the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  they  have  no  hurt ;  and  the  aspect  of  the  fourth  is  like 
a  son  of  the  gods  '  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — In  this  account  there  seems  to  be  a  curious  blending  of 
vision  and  history. 

Explanation. — The  rendering  given  in  the  Revised  Version 
relieves  the  great  difficulty  which  has  always  been  felt  in  the  identifi- 
cation of  the  fourth  person  in  the  fire  as  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  only  Nebuchadnezzar  saw  this  fourth  person,  and  that  the 
noble  or  godlike  form  he  observed  suggested  to  him  that  the  men  in 
:he  fire  were  under  special  Divine  protection.  It  must  be  remem- 
Dered  that  Nebuchadnezzar  was,  at  the  time,  in  a  very  excited  state, 
md  his  suffering  from  what  is  called  lycanthropy,  or  a  diseased  im- 
igination  that  he  was  an  animal,  suggests  the  sensitiveness  of  his  im- 
igination.  This  part  of  the  story  belongs  to  the  king  alone.  No 
dea  is  suggested  as  to  the  three  young  men  recognising  that  a  fourth 
vas  with  them. 

The  miracles  of  preservation  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Daniel  are 
extraordinary  instances  of  the  Providence  that  watches  over  God's 
;ervants,  more  especially  when  they  are  called  to  witness,  work,  01 
•uffer  for  God.  Their  mission  probably  was  to  convince  the  people 


492      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

of  Israel  that  God's  Providence  was  watching  over  them,  and  keeping 
them  safe,  through  all  the  years  and  perils  of  their  captivity.  It  may 
have  been  partly  designed,  by  these  miracles,  to  produce,  in  the 
minds  of  the  Babylonians,  a  wholesome  fear  of  Jehovah  ;  but  we  may 
look  for  their  chief  purpose  in  the  comforting  and  reassuring  of  God's 
own  afflicted  people. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  three  youths  expected  any 
miraculous  deliverance.  They  proposed  to  themselves  no  more  than 
a  firm  and  strict  obedience,  whatever  it  might  cost,  and  anticipated  a 
speedy  death. 

The  Speakers  Commentary  says  :  *  It  is  a  question  still  unsolved 
Did  others  besides  the  king  see  "  four  men  loose,"  etc.  ?  The  narra 
tive  would  admit  it ;  the  courtiers'  stereotyped  reply,  "  True,  O  king,' 
is  not  of  much  weight  for  or  against  this  view ;  but  the  older  belie 
has  been  that  this  "  sight ' — an  object  sight,  and  not  a  vision — wa? 
granted  unto  the  king  alone.  What  did  the  expression  "  a  son  of  th( 
gods  "  mean,  as  used  by  Nebuchadnezzar  ?  It  was  the  language  o 
one  educated  in  and  familiar  with  the  Babylonian  belief  in  gods 
From  the  union  of  Bel  and  Mylitta  had  sprung  a  divine  progeny  o 
"  sons  ;"  and  one  of  those  divine  visitors  had  vouchsafed  to  appea 
now,  an  "angel"  (lit,  "messenger,"  ver.  28)  of  deliverance  t< 
Shadrach  and  his  fellows.' 

Miraculous  Imitations. 

EXODUS  vii.  n  :'  Then  Pharaoh  also  called  for  the  wise  men,  and  the  sorcerers 
and  they  also,  the  magicians  of  Egypt,  did  in  like  manner  with  their  enchantments 
(Rev.  Ver.}. 

Question. — Are  we  to  unde'*u*,»  '  that  these  magicians  succeede, 
in  producing  identical  results,  or  did  they  simply  deceive  by  false  appeal 
ances,  or  make  changes  by  sleight  of  hand  1 

Answer. — Some  have  supposed  that  the  magicians  of  Egypt  wer 
really  in  possession  of  supernatural  powers,  obtained  by  a  connectio 
with  evil  spirits;  but  an  examination  of  their  writings  does  nc 
support  any  such  representation.  They  are  full  of  charms,  whic 
were  believed  to  exert  a  powerful  effect,  producing  or  removin 
disease,  and  averting  evil.  *  On  the  whole,  it  is  perhaps  most  pr< 
bable  that  the  magicians  were  merely  persons  acquainted  with  mar 
secrets  of  nature  not  generally  known,  and  trained  in  tricks  of  sleigl 
of  hand  and  conjuring.' 

The  things  which  they  accomplished  were  certainly  not  beyond  tr 
skill  and  power  of  the  Eastern  conjuror.  Moses  describes  the  effe< 
produced  on  the  spectators ;  he  must  not  be  understood  as  assertir 


MIR  A  CULOUS  IMITA  TIONS.  493 

hat  they  did  exactly  the  same  thing  as  he  did.  They  produced  the 
ame  appearances,  and  this  would  satisfy  the  king,  who  did  not  want 
o  believe  in  the  Divine  commission  of  Moses.  The  appearance 
erved  to  provide  an  excuse,  and  the  king  was  not  anxious  to  make 
nquiries  that  would  dispel  any  delusions.  It  is  indeed  quite  probable 
hat  he  believed  in  the  supernatural  powers  of  his  jugglers  ;  but  his 
relief  did  not  make  such  supernatural  power  the  actual  fact.  The 
Koran  represents  the  magicians  as  deceiving  the  people  by  acting 
ipon  their  imaginations. 

Jamieson  well  expresses  all  that  can  be  said  on  this  subject. 
Pharaoh's  object  in  calling  them  was  to  ascertain  whether  this  doing 
)f  Aaron's  was  really  a  work  of  Divine  power,  or  merely  a  feat  of 
nagical  art  The  magicians  of  Egypt  in  modem  times  have  been 
ong  celebrated  adepts  in  charming  serpents,  and,  particularly  by 
iressing  the  nape  of  the  neck,  they  throw  them  into  a  kind  of 
:atalepsy,  which  renders  them  stiff  and  immovable — this  seeming  to 
:hange  them  into  a  rod.  They  conceal  the  serpent  about  their 
persons,  and,  by  acts  of  legerdemain,  produce  it  from  their  dress,  stiff 
md  straight  as  a  rod.  Just  the  same  trick  was  played  off  by  their 
indent  predecessors,  the  most  renowned  of  whom,  Jannes  and 
[ambres  (2  Tim.  iii.  8),  were  called  in  on  this  occasion.  They  had 
ime  after  the  summons  to  make  suitable  preparations — and  so  it 
ippears  that  they  succeeded,  by  their  "  enchantments,"  in  practising 
in  illusion  on  the  senses.' 

The  imitation  of  the  blood-coloured  water  was  even  an  easier  thing. 
Changing  colours  of  liquids  is  quite  a  common  conjuror's  trick.  It 
s  managed  by  sleight  of  hand.  In  those  days  appearances  were 
ireated  as  realities,  and  no  rigorous  scientific  examinations  were 
required.  Things  were  easily  accepted  as  being  what  it  seemed  as  if 
:hey  were.  Both  miracles,  and  imitations  of  miracles,  must  be 
studied  in  the  light  of  the  credulity  and  superstition  of  the  age  in 
which  they  were  wrought. 

Signs  granted  to  Gideon. 

JUDGES  ri.  36,  37  :  '  And  Gideon  said  unto  God,  If  Thou  wilt  save  Israel  by 
mine  hand,  as  Thou  hast  spoken,  behold,  I  will  put  a  fleece  of  wool  on  the 
threshing-floor ;  if  there  be  dew  on  the  fleece  only,  and  it  be  dry  upon  all  the 
ground,  then  shall  I  know  that  Thou  wilt  save  Israel  by  mine  hand,  as  Thou  hast 
spoken'  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Question. —  Was  Gideon  justified  in  thus  asking  for  an  interference 
with  the  order  of  nature  for  tJie  confirmation  of  his  faith  ? 

Answer. — Such  a  putting  God  to  the  test  would  certainly  be 
wholly  wrong  in  us.  We  must  never  act  as  if,  for  a  moment,  we 


494      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

doubted  God's  word.  For  Gideon  to  ask  signs  for  the  confirming  of 
his  faith  is  no  example  to  us  who  know  God  so  much  better  than  he 
could.  His  act  must  be  judged  in  the  light  of  his  character,  and  of 
the  sentiments  of  his  age,  and  of  the  peculiar  difficulty  of  his  circum- 
stances. He  was  called  to  a  seemingly  hopeless  task.  His  only 
chance  of  success  lay  in  special  Divine  power  exerted  on  his  behalf, 
and  it  was  but  natural,  though  distinctly  wrong,  that  Gideon  should 
ask  for  the  encouragement  of  seeing  what  the  Divine  power  could  do. 
It  is  evident  that  there  were  grave  questions  in  Gideon's  mind  as  to 
whether  he  was  right  in  asking  these  signs,  for,  in  presenting  the 
second  request,  he  says  :  '  Let  not  Thine  anger  be  hot  against  me, 
and  I  will  speak  but  this  once.'  We  can  only  see  an  instance  of 
Divine  condescension,  and  gracious  adaptation  to  the  precise  circum- 
stances of  the  time,  in  God's  thus  allowing  Himself  to  be  put  to  the. 
test. 

It  must,  however,  be  distinctly  noted  that  Gideon  asked  with  a 
desire  and  purpose  to  trust  and  obey.  Our  Lord  refused  signs  to 
Pharisees  who  asked  in  a  mood  of  doubting^  and  with  the  hope  of 
maintaining  their  doubts.  If  there  is  faith  God  may  be  pleased 
graciously  to  confirm  it  with  signs.  No  signs  will  create  faith,  for  the 
man  disposed  to  object  can  always  raise  objections,  and  rebut  the 
best  evidences. 

It  is  noticed  that  the  first  sign  might  be  a  purely  natural  result. 

*  Everyone  must  have  noticed  flocks  of  wool  on  the  hedges,  sparkling 
with  dewdrops  long  after  the  dew  on  the  leaves  around  them  has 
evaporated.'     Lord  Bacon  is   the  authority  for  the  statement  that 
1  Sailors  have  used  every  night  to  hang  fleeces  of  wool  on  the  sides  of 
their  ships  towards  the  water,  and  they  have  crushed  fresh  water  out 
of  them   in  the  morning.'     The  second  result,  being  contrary  to 
nature,  could  only  have  been  reached  by  Divine  interposition. 

Kitto  thinks  Gideon  asked  these  signs  rather  to  authenticate  his 
mission  to  the  people,  than  for  the  confirming  of  his  own  faith. 

*  The  tenor  of  the  request  is  expressed  in  such  a  manner  as  would 
have  been  offensive  to  any  man  of  spirit,  who  had  given  solemn 
assurances  to  another:  but  the  Lord  is  very  merciful,  very  long- 
suffering — more  of  both  than  man — and  Gideon's  request  was  granted 
without  a  rebuke.      Perhaps,  also,  the  terms  employed  are  to  be 
regarded  as  not  so  much  the  emanation  of  his  own  feeling,  as  his 
mode  of  stating  the  case  for  the  understanding  of  his  people.' 

The  Speakers  Commentary  says  :  '  The  caution  of  Gideon  is  remark- 
able. It  is  impossible  to  conceive  anything  more  remote  from  a 
credulous  enthusiasm.  Distinguish  between  tfcs  desire  to  be  assured 


NILE  WATERS  TURNED  TO  BLOOD.        495 

that  he  really  had  a  promise  from  God,  and  doubts  as  to  God's 
faithfulness  or  power  to  fulfil  His  promise.  Of  the  latter  there  is  not 
a  trace  in  Gideon's  character.  He  is  a  worthy  example  of  faith.1 

Dean  Stanley  greatly  admires  Gideon  :  *  He  was,  we  should  say, 
before  bis  age.  He  himself  remains  as  a  character  apart,  faintly 
understood  by  others,  imperfectly  fulfilling  his  own  ideas,  staggering 
under  a  burden  to  which  he  was  not  equal.' 

Nile  Waters  turned  to  Blood. 

EXODUS  vii.  17,  1 8  :  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  In  this  thou  shall  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord  ;  behold,  I  will  smite  with  the  rod  that  is  in  mine  hand  upon  the  waters 
which  are  in  the  river,  and  they  shall  be  turned  to  blood.  And  the  fish  Uat  is  in 
the  river  shall  die,  and  the  river  shall  stink ;  and  the  Egyptians  shall  loathe  to 
drink  water  from  the  river.' 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  that  the  water  was  turned  into 
ictual  blood,  or  that  it  was  changed  in  character,  and  the  new  character 
resembled  blood  ? 

Answer. — If  we  may  reasonably  limit  the  miracle  to  what  was 
iccessary  in  producing  due  impressions  on  Pharaoh  and  his  people, 
ve  may  certainly  assume  that  the  water  was  turned  into  a  blood- 
colour,  and  not  into  actual  blood.  To  make  the  waters  of  the  land 
ictual  blood  was  a  miracle  quite  beyond  the  demands  of  the  occa- 
;ion.  It  is  not  a  question  whether  God  could  do  such  a  thing,  but 
vhether  He  would  do  such  a  thing,  in  particular  circumstances,  when 
i  miracle  running  along  the  lines  of  ordinary  nature  would  suffice, 
t  is  a  principle  of  human  action,  that  a  thing  is  not  really  efficient 
vhich  is  beyond  the  occasion.  And  this  principle  may  reverently  be 
pplied  to  God. 

The  incident  must  be  viewed  in  the  light  of  facts  that  are  known 
:oncerning  the  Nile,  and  of  the  sentiments  entertained  by  the 
Egyptians  concerning  it. 

The  admiration  for  the  Nile  water  strikes  us  as  extravagant  and 
idiculous.  It  was  said  that  if  Mahomet  had  once  tasted  the  stream, 
ie  would  have  asked  an  immortality  on  earth  that  he  might  enjoy  it 
or  ever.  The  water  of  the  Nile  was  sent,  as  a  present  fit  for  royalty 
o  receive,  to  distant  kings  and  queens.  The  Egyptians  were  accus- 
omed  to  use  the  Nile  water  for  drinking,  for  ablutions,  for  the  wash- 
ig  of  their  clothes,  and  for  culinary  purposes;  they  have  great 
.ifficulty  in  procuring  any  other ;  they  delight  in  the  Nile  water ; 
link  it  the  best  in  the  world,  and  are  in  the  habit  of  drinking  deep 
raughts  of  it  continually.  *  The  waters  of  Egypt  consist  of  the  main 
tream  of  the  Nile ;  its  branches ;  canals  derived  from  it ;  natural 


496      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Lakes,  pools,  and  ponds,  either  left  by  the  inundation,  or  anticipative 
of  it,  being  derived  by  percolation  from  the  main  stream ;  and 
artificial  reservoirs  of  a  larger  or  smaller  size  in  gardens,  courts,  and 
houses.  There  is  no  other  stream  but  the  Nile  in  the  whole  country; 
and  there  are  no  natural  springs,  fountains,  or  brooks.  Water  may, 
however,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  parts  of  the  Nile  Valley,  be  obtained 
by  digging  wells  ;  but,  as  the  soil  is  impregnated  with  nitre,  the  water 
is  highly  unpalatable.' 

In  a  natural  way  the  Nile  does,  at  times,  show  a  blood-red  colour. 
Before  the  annual  rise  the  water  is  green  and  unfit  to  drink  without 
filtration.  About  the  end  of  June  it  changes  to  a  yellowish  colour, 
which  gradually  becomes  reddish,  like  ochre.  Probably  this  is  owing 
to  red  earth  borne  down  by  the  flood  from  Sennaar,  but  Ehrenberg 
seems  to  prove  his  assertion  that  it  is  really  owing  to  the  presence  of 
microscopic  cryptogams  and  infusoria.  It  is  said  that  at  such 
seasons  the  broad  turbid  tide  has  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  river  of 
blood. 

But  this  natural  redness  of  the  Nile  materially  differed  from  the 
redness  produced  by  Divine  power  through  the  agency  of  Moses. 
It  does  not  render  the  water  unfit  for  drinking,  nor  does  it  kill  the 
fishes.  We  may  say,  with  Kitto^  ( We  do  not  suppose  that  there  was 
actual  blood,  but  that  the  water  became  red  as  blood,  and  acquired 
such  properties  as  not  only  destroyed  the  fish,  but  caused  the 
Egyptians  to  loathe  to  drink  from  the  stream  which  they,  not  without 
reason,  regarded  as  affording  the  most  delicious  water  in  the  world.' 

It  may  further  be  said  that  the  Nile  water  at  times  has  a  distinctly 
offensive  odour  naturally. 

Very  possibly,  therefore,  the  miracle  took  the  form  of  an  exaggera- 
tion of  the  natural  peculiarities  of  the  river.  The  intenser  colour, 
and  the  stronger  odour,  intimating  a  condition  making  the  waters 
offensive  to  man,  and  perilous  to  the  fishes. 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  collects  some  curious  instances  of  waters  becoming 
blood-red  in  colour,  and  blood-looking  spots  appearing  on  bleaching 
linen,  etc.,  which  are  important  as  suggesting  the  natural  agencies 
which  may  have  been  used.  'Ehrenberg  saw,  in  1823,  the  whole 
bay  of  the  Red  Sea,  at  Sinai,  turned  into  the  colour  of  blood  by  the 
presence  of  cryptogamous  plants.  Similarly,  the  Elbe  ran  with  wha 
seemed  blood,  for  several  days,  in  the  beginning  of  this  century. 
The  Nile,  also,  has  been  known  to  have  the  same  look,  and  to  re 
main  blood-like  and  fetid  for  months.  In  Silimaris  Journal  there  it 
an  account  of  a  fountain  of  blood  in  a  cave  in  South  America.  I 
grew  solid,  and  burst  bottles  into  which  it  was  put,  and  dogs  ate  i 


NILE  WATERS  TURNED  TO  BLOOD.  497 

greedily.  Before  the  potato  rot  in  1846  small  red  spots  appeared  on 
linen  laid  out  to  bleach,  and  in  1848,  Eckhardt,  of  Berlin,  saw  the 
same  on  potatoes  in  the  house  of  a  cholera  patient ;  the  spots  in  this 
last  case  proving  to  be  caused  by  one  of  the  algae — Palmella prodigiosa. 
In  1852  a  similar  appearance  on  food,  both  animal  and  vegetable, 
was  noticed  in  France,  by  M.  Montague.  In  1825,  Lake  Morat 
became  like  blood  in  different  parts.  In  the  steppes  of  Siberia,  also, 
lakes  have  been  noticed  thus  strangely  discoloured.  In  the  time  of 
the  Reformation,  M.  Merle  d'Aubigne  tells  us,  blood  seemed  in 
some  parts  of  Switzerland  to  flow  from  the  earth,  from  walls  and 
other  sources,  and  the  same  thing  has  been  noticed  on  bread,  at 
Tours,  in  A.D.  503;  at  Spires,  in  1103;  at  Rochelle,  in  1163;  at 
Namur,  in  1193;  and  elsewhere  at  various  times.  The  cause  of 
these  wonders  is  a  minute  alga  which  grows  so  rapidly  that  it 
actually  flows,  and  is  so  small  that  there  are  from  46,656,000,000,000 
to  884,736,000,000,000  plants  in  a  cubic  inch.' 

In  Osburn's  Monumental  History  of  Egypt  is  the  following  inter- 
esting passage  :  *  The  sun  was  just  rising  over  the  Arabian  hills,  and 
I  was  surprised  to  see  that  the  moment  its  beams  struck  the  water  a 
deep-red  reflection  was  caused.  The  intensity  of  the  red  grew  with 
the  increase  of  the  light,  so  that  even  before  the  disk  of  the  sun  had 
risen  completely  above  the  hills  the  Nile  offered  the  appearance  of  a 
river  of  blood.  Suspecting  some  illusion,  I  rose  quickly,  and  leaning 
over  the  side  of  the  boat,  found  my  first  impression  confirmed.  The 
entire  mass  of  the  waters  was  opaque,  and  of  a  dark  red,  more  like 
blood  than  anything  else  to  which  I  could  compare  it.  At  the  same 
time  I  saw  that  the  river  had  risen  some  inches  during  the  night,  and 
the  Arabs  came  to  tell  me  it  was  the  Red  Nile.' 

Geikie  thinks  that  if  'the  waters  had  been  turned  into  real  bloody  the 
smell  of  its  corrupting  would  have  killed  every  living  creature,  both 
man  and  breast,  long  before  the  seven  days  had  ended.'  Perhaps  we 
can  only  venture  to  say  that,  even  to  those  who  knew  the  Nile  well, 
the  phenomena  were  so  unusual,  and  so  revolting,  as  to  indicate  not 
only  the  power  but  the  judgment  of  God.  The  waters  became  as 
offensive,  loathsome,  and  dangerous,  as  if  they  had  been  changed 
into  the  blood  which,  in  colour,  they  so  greatly  resembled. 


498      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
Stopped  Mouths  of  Lions. 

DANIEL  vi.  22  :  *  My  God  hath  sent  His  angel,  and  hath  shut  the  lions'  mouths, 
that  they  have  not  hurt  me  ;  forasmuch  as  before  Him  innocency  was  found  in  me  ; 
and  also  before  thee,  O  king,  have  I  done  no  hurt.' 

Question. — Can  we  realize  how  the  Median  Darius  would  regard 
this  Divine  intervention  for  the  safety  of  Daniel? 

Answer. — He  was  a  worshipper  of  Ormazd,  or  Ormuzd,  the  good 
god;  and  believed  in  a  being  known  as  Sraosha  or  Serosh — Ormazd's 
messenger  or  angel,  and  the  '  protector  of  the  true  faith.'  He  would, 
therefore,  quite  understand  Daniel's  language,  in  harmony  with  his 
own  knowledge  and  notions. 

'The  most  common  representatives  of  the  evil  powers  in  which 
the  Medo-Persian  believed  were  lions  winged  and  unwinged.  The 
walls  of  Persepolis,  and  coins,  pictured  the  king — Ormazd's  repre- 
sentative on  earth — as  the  recognised  opponent  and  destroyer  of  the 
lions,  and  so  of  the  evil  which  they  symbolized.  What  King  Darius 
had  failed  to  do,  what  Ormazd — according  to  the  Median  creed — 
would  have  had  Darius  do,  that  "  God's  angel  had  done." ' — Speaker's 
Commentary. 

Dean  Stanley  tells  us  that  'the  story  of  the  Den  of  Lions  is  told  in 
three  different  versions — the  one  in  the  Hebrew,  most  generally 
known,  which  places  the  incident  under  Darius  the  Mede ;  the  second, 
in  the  Greek,  which  places  it  under  Cyrus,  in  connection  with  the 
intrigues  of  the  priests  of  Bel ;  the  third,  in  John  of  Malala,  who 
places  it  also  under  Cyrus,  from  Daniel's  refusal  to  answer  the 
question  whether  he  shall  succeed  against  Croesus.  It  is  the  second 
of  these  which  the  early  Christians  of  the  Catacombs  adopted  when 
they  painted  the  youth  standing  upright  in  prayer  naked  between 
the  lions,  and  relieved  by  the  flight  of  Habakkuk  the  prophet  from 
Palestine  to  Babylon,  a  grotesque  addition  to  the  Hebrew  record, 
redeemed  by  the  fine  answer  of  the  captive  :  "  Thou  hast  remembered 
me,  O  God,  neither  hast  Thou  forsaken  them  that  seek  Thee  and 
.oveThee.'" 

On  the  proofs  afforded  by  the  monuments  of  this  mode  of  dealing 
with  criminals  in  Babylon,  Kitto  gives  very  interesting  details  in  his 
Daily  Bible  Illustrations. 

This  miracle,  as  a  private  and  personal  Divine  preservation,  may 
be  classed  with  the  feeding  of  Elijah  by  the  ravens.  Its  lesson  for 
all  ages  seems  to  be,  that  Divine  Providence  will  surely  be  on  the 
side  of,  and  work  for,  all  those  who  bear  good  character.  This  may 
be  accepted  as  the  usual  fact.  *  Godliness  has  the  promise  of  the 


RfSE  OF  SAMUEL  AT  ENDOR.  499 

life  that  now  is.'  If  in  any  case  such  Providential  preservations  and 
benedictions  seem  to  fail,  we  must  always  look  for  some  overruling 
'  need's  be.'  If  the  good  man  suffers,  it  is  because  higher  ends  of 
blessing — for  the  man  himself  or  for  others — can  be  accomplished  by 
the  suffering  than  could  have  been  accomplished  by  the  usual  bene- 
diction. But  life  for  us  all  may  be  lived  under  this  ever-ennobling 
conviction — God  is  on  the  side  oj  the  good. 

Rise  of  Samuel  at  Endor. 

I  SAMUEL  xxviii.  13,  14  :  'And  the  woman  said  unto  Saul,  I  see  a  god  coming 
up  out  of  the  earth.  And  he  said  unto  her,  What  form  is  he  of?  And  she  said, 
An  old  man  cometh  up  ;  and  he  is  covered  with  a  robe.  And  Saul  perceived  that 
it  was  Samuel,  and  he  bowed  with  his  face  to  the  ground,  and  did  obeisance ' 
(ftevi  Ver.). 

Question. —  Was  this  raising  of  Samuel  something  which,  we  are 
to  understand,  could  be  accomplished  by  the  woman's  incantations  ;  or 
were  both  the  woman  and  the  king  surprised  at  the  result  which  she 
appeared  to  achieve  t 

Answer. — There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Saul  was  superstitious 
enough  to  believe  that  the  woman  had  occult  powers,  and  could 
bring  the  spirits  of  the  dead  to  hold  converse  with  the  living.  But 
even  he  was  surprised  when  he  found  Samuel  appeared  in  bodily 
form.  The  narrative  does  not  make  it  quite  clear  whether  the  king 
actually  saw  the  form  of  Samuel,  or  whether  the  woman  only  saw, 
and  the  communications  between  Samuel  and  Saul  were  made  through 
her.  The  woman  was  evidently  frightened  at  results  which  she  knew 
were  quite  beyond  her  power  to  obtain. 

If  illustrations  of  the  woman's  power  are  needed,  they  should  be 
sought  in  the  *  spiritualism,'  the  *  clairvoyants,'  and  the  *  mediums,'  of 
the  present  day.  The  proper  meaning  of  the  term  '  necromancer  ' 
is  *  one  who  interrogates  the  dead.'  Some  writers  think  that  Samuel 
suddenly  appeared  before  the  woman  had  time  even  to  begin  any  of 
her  rites. 

Kitto  tells  us  that  at  one  time  he  thought  the  king  did  not  see  the 
shade,  or  hear  the  voice  ;  but  only  communicated  through  the 
woman;  closer  attention  to  the  narrative  had  convinced  him  that 
Samuel  had  directly  to  do  with  SauL 

Ewald  represents  the  more  vague  view  of  the  incident,  which 
would  gladly  relieve  the  story  of  all  miraculous  features.  He  says  : 
*  Saul's  act  is  condemned  beforehand  by  the  narrator  as  running 
counter  to  the  religion  of  Jahveh ;  but  it  is  equally  certain  that  the 
narrator  means  that  what  Saul  heard  was  really  the  angry  spirit-voice 
of  Samuel,  and  not  mere  deceptive  words  from  the  witch.  He  thus 

32—3 


500      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

condemns  this  mode  of  seeking  an  oracle  as  impious,  but  does 
not  deny  that  the  dead,  or  at  least  a  spirit  like  Samuel's,  could 
speak  after  death.'  The  tone  of  these  remarks  leads  us  to  feel 
that  Ewald  would  like  to  believe  that  the  voice  heard  was  really  the 
voice  of  Saul's  aroused  conscience,  using  language  remembered  as 
employed  by  Samuel  in  the  denunciations  of  the  past.  And  for  such 
a  view  very  much  might  be  urged. 

Jamieson  expresses  the  diversified  views  taken  of  the  incident 
succinctly  :  '  The  story  has  led  to  much  discussion  whether  there  was 
a  real  appearance  of  Samuel  or  not.  On  the  one  hand,  the  woman's 
profession,  which  was  forbidden  by  the  divine  law,  the  refusal  ot 
God  to  answer  Saul  by  any  divinely-constituted  means,  the  well- 
known  age,  figure,  and  dress  of  Samuel,  which  she  could  easily 
represent  herself,  or  by  an  accomplice — his  apparition  being  evidently 
at  some  distance,  being  muffled,  and  not  actually  seen  by  Saul — and 
the  vagueness  of  the  information  given,  which  might  have  been 
reached  by  natural  conjecture,  have  led  many  to  think  that  it  was  a 
case  of  mere  deception.  On  the  other  hand,  many  eminent  writers 
(considering  that  the  apparition  came  before  her  arts  were  put  in 
practice ;  that  she  herself  was  surprised  and  alarmed ;  that  the  pre- 
dictions of  Saul's  own  death  and  the  defeat  of  his  forces  were  con- 
fidently made)  are  of  opinion  that  Samuel  really  appeared.' 

The  chief  authorities  for  the  view  that  there  was  an  actual  presence 
of  Samuel  are  :  Heb.  and  Sept.  Ver. ;  Josephus ;  Jewish  expositors  ; 
Justin  Martyr,  Origen,  Hippolytus,  Ambrose,  and  Augustine ;  Water- 
land,  Kitto,  Gerlach,  Delitzsch,  and  Keil.  The  authorities  for 
the  view  that  there  was  only  a-  spectral  illusion  are :  Tertullian,. 
Luther,  Cavin,  Bishop  Hall,  Bishop  Patrick,  and  Matthew  Henry, 

The  Fall  of  Jericho. 

JOSHUA  vi.  20  :  '  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  people  heard  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet,  and  the  people  shouted  with  a  great  shout,  that  the  wall  fell  down  flat,, 
so  that  the  people  went  up  into  the  city,  every  man  straight  before  him,  and  they 
took  the  city.' 

Question. — Are  there  any  natural  forces  which  we  may  think 
likely  to  have  been  used  by  God  in  the  overthrow  of  this  city? 

Answer. — It  is  remarkable  that  the  Bible  narrative  should  give 
so  few  details.  We  have  the  picturesque  description  of  the  eye-witness, 
not  the  precise  and  elaborate  account  of  a  scientific  man.  There  is 
no  attempt  made  to  trace  the  agencies  that  were  divinely  employed  ; 
the  writer  satisfies  himself  with  a  firm  and  clear  declaration  of  the 
Divine  operation. 


THE  FALL  OF  JERICHO.  501 

The  modern  mind  cannot  be  satisfied  with  a  statement  of  bare  fact 
about  anything.  It  persists  in  inquiring  how  the  thing  came  about, 
and  why  it  came  to  pass.  We  feel  that  we  do  not  know  a  thing  until 
we  know  the  cause  of  it,  and  the  reason  for  it.  But  in  the  case  of 
Bible  events  and  incidents  we  can  never  get  beyond  the  possible,  or 
perhaps  the  probable  causes,  and  all  inquiries  into  the  antecedents 
of  miraculous  incidents  must  be  made  in  a  modest  and  hesitating 
spirit,  because  the  data  for  an  absolute  decision  cannot  possibly  be 
recovered. 

The  gravest  difficulty  in  the  account  of  Jericho  lies  in  the  mental 
picture  which  has  been  created  by  the  expression, '  the  wall  fell  down 
flat,  so  that  the  people  went  up  into  the  city,  every  man  straight 
before  him.'  This  usually  suggests  a  circular  city  with  a  wall  all 
round  it,  which  in  a  moment  fell  inwards,  and  lay  like  a  pavement, 
over  which  the  soldiers  marched  to  possess  the  city. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  state  the  popular  impression  thus  plainly  in 
order  to  indicate  its  unsuitability,  as  a  realization  of  the  facts  that  are 
narrated.  Poetical  descriptions  must  not  be  treated  in  such  a  prosaic 
way.  The  Hebrew  does  not  say  that  the  wall  fell  downyfotf,  but  that 
it  fell  "  in  its  place?  or  "  under  it,"  which  equally  expresses  a  general 
tumbling  down.  All  that  was  necessary  was  the  opening  of  wide 
breaches,  of  which  the  soldiers  could  take  instant  advantage ;  and 
this  would  be  accomplished  by  an  earthquake.  It  should  further  be 
noticed  that  Rahab's  house  was  upon  the  town-wall,  so  that  she  could 
let  down  the  spies  into  the  open  country ;  but  as  her  house  did  not 
fall,  it  is  plain  that  the  part  of  the  wall  by  her  house  could  not  have 
fallen. 

The  district  is  one  much  subject  to  earthquakes,  and  one  may  be 
assumed  to  have  occurred  at  this  moment,  the  force  of  which  told 
upon  the  walls  in  such  a  manner  that  the  Israelite  soldiers  could, 
from  several  directions  at  once,  scramble  over  the  debris,  resist  the 
frightened  soldiers  of  Jericho,  and  speedily  crush  all  opposition. 
Such  an  explanation  meets  all  the  necessities  of  the  case,  and,  for 
many  minds,  will  give  worthier  and  more  impressive  views  of  the 
Divine  interventions  and  overrulings,  than  can  come  to  them  by 
exaggerated  representations,  which  seem  more  like  fables  or  legends 
than  sober  history.  God's  use  and  control  of  the  forces  He  has 
Himself  appointed  is  more  wonderful  than  any  mere  working 
of  new  wonders,  which  seem  to  suit  better  the  Joves  of  heathenism 
than  the  Jehovah  of  the  Bible,  who  created  all  things  in  infinite 
wisdom,  and  in  foreknowledge  of  all  their  possible  uses.  God's  free 
power  over  everything  He  has  created,  so  that  all  things  shall  *  serve 


502      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

His  might/  seems  to  us  a  conception  of  God  that  fills  us  with  rever- 
ence, and  makes  possible  an  intelligent — and  not  a  mere  super- 
stitious— trust. 

The  explanations  offered  of  the  agency  of  this  miracle  have  taken 
a  threefold  character.  Paulus  suggested  an  undermining  of  the 
walls ;  Jahn,  an  earthquake ;  and  Ewald,  a  sudden  assault. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Groser,  in  his  work  on  Joshua  and  his  Successors^ 
shows  how  the  intelligent  and  thoughtful  reader  ought  to  understand 
the  poetical  Bible  description.  He  says  :  '  The  mighty  fortress  was 
shaken  to  its  foundations,  the  wall  '  falling  under  itself,'  and  laying 
open  the  famed  stronghold  as  though  it  had  been  one  of  the  villages 
of  the  plain.  Before  the  defenders  could  recover  from  the  shock  the 
invaders  crossed  the  crumbling  ruins  on  every  side,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Divine  command,  put  every  living  creature  to  the 
sword.' 

Dean  Stanley  says :  *  It  may  be  that  the  means  were  found  in  the 
resources  of  the  natural  agencies  of  earthquake  or  volcanic  convul- 
sion, which  mark  the  whole  of  the  Jordan  Valley,  from  Gennesareth 
down  to  the  Dead  Sea,  and  which  are  perpetually  recurring  in  its 
course,  not  only  during  the  sacred  history,  but  to  our  own  time.  If 
so,  we  have  a  remarkable  illustration  and  confirmation  of  the  narra- 
tive, the  more  so,  because  the  secondary  causes  of  this  phenomenon 
must  have  been  to  the  sacred  historians  themselves  unknown.' 

Van  Lennep  remarks  that  *  Western  Asia  has  suffered  much  from 
earthquakes  from  time  imemmorial,  although  only  one  volcano  exists  in 
its  neighbourhood.  This  is  Santorino,  whose  last  great  eruption  is 
described  by  Strabo,  since  which  period  it  has  shown  no  sign  of  life 
till  quite  lately.  The  volcanoes  of  Katakekaumene  (a  part  of  Lydia) 
have  long  been  extinct.  But  many  cities,  once  prosperous  and  re- 
nowned, have  in  a  moment's  time  been  utterly  destroyed  by  earth- 
quakes, and  many  of  their  inhabitants  buried  under  the  ruins  ;  chief 
among  these  were  Antioch,  Sardis,  and  Nicomedia.  Constantinople 
has  also  suffered  severely  from  the  same  cause,  and  the  church  of  St 
Sophia  was  levelled  with  the  ground,  but  was  afterwards  rebuilt  with 
greater  splendour  than  before,  by  the  Emperor  Justinian  (A.D.  548). 
It  was,  perhaps,  by  such  an  agency  that  the  walls  of  Jericho  were 
miraculously  overthrown  at  the  sounding  of  the  trumpets  of  the 
Israelites.' 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  only  ventures  timidly  to  state  the  fact  that  an  earth- 
quake has  been  suggested  as  the  agency.  He  says  :  '  That  the  walls 
should  give  way,  and  open  a  wide  breach,  after  the  seven  circuits  of 
the  seventh  day,  must  have  raised  only  one  thought  in  the  bosom  of 


GOHS  SIGN  TO  AHAZ.  503 

all  Israel — that  the  victory  was  not  theirs  but  God's.  It  is  not  even 
hinted  that  one  of  the  earthquakes,  so  common  in  that  region, 
happened  at  the  time,  though  such  a  coincidence  has  been  imagined. 


God's  Sign  to  Ahaz. 

ISAIAH  vii.  14  :  *  Therefore  the  Lord  Himself  shall  give  you  a  sign  ;  behold, 
virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel.' 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  that  some  supernatural  event 
was  to  happen^  or  did  the  sign  lie  in  the  fact  of  what  was  about  tc 
happen  being  foretold  ? 

Answer. — A  *  sign '  is  not  necessarily  a  '  miracle,'  nor  necessarily 
even  a  '  prophecy.'  It  is  simply  a  sensible  pledge  of  the  truth  of 
something  else,  whether  present,  past,  or  future.  Sometimes  it  took 
form  as  a  miracle,  sometimes  as  a  prophecy,  but  sometimes  only  as 
a  symbol,  and  especially  as  a  symbolical  name  or  action.  In  the 
case  of  Ahaz,  the  sign  was  offered  as  a  proof  of  Isaiah's  Divine 
legation,  which  Ahaz  seemed  to  doubt. 

The  explanation  of  this  particular  sign  by  J.  A.  Alexander  is  as 
follows :  '  The  king  having  refused  to  ask  a  sign,  the  prophet  gives 
him  one,  by  renewing  the  promise  of  deliverance  (ver.  8,  9),  and  con- 
necting it  with  the  birth  of  a  child,  whose  significant  name  is  made  a 
symbol  of  the  Divine  interposition,  and  his  progress  a  measure  of  the 
subsequent  events.  Instead  of  saying  that  God  would  be  present 
with  them  to  deliver  them,  he  says  the  child  shall  be  called 
Immanuel  (God  with  us)  ;  instead  of  mentioning  a  term  of  years,  he 
says,  before  the  child  is  able  to  distinguish  good  from  evil ;  instead  of 
saying  that  until  that  time  the  land  shall  lie  waste,  he  represents  the 
child  as  eating  curds  and  honey,  spontaneous  products,  here  put  in 
opposition  to  the  fruits  of  cultivation.  At  the  same  time,  the  form 
of  expression  is  descriptive.  Instead  of  saying  that  the  child  shall 
experience  all  this,  he  represents  its  birth  and  infancy  as  actually 
passing  in  his  sight;  he  sees  the  child  brought  forth  and  named 
Immanuel ;  he  sees  the  child  eating  curds  and  honey  till  a  certain 
age.  But  very  different  opinions  are  held  as  to  the  child  here 
alluded  to.  Some  think  it  must  be  a  child  about  to  be  born,  in  the 
course  of  nature,  to  the  prophet  himself.  Others  think  that  two 
distinct  births  are  referred  to,  one  that  of  Shear  Jashub,  the  prophet's 
son,  and  the  other  Christ,  the  Virgin's  Son.  Yet  others  see  only  a 
prophetic  reference  to  the  birth  of  Messiah.'  Alexander's  conclusion 
is  that,  '  While  some  diversity  of  judgment  ought  to  be  expected  and 


504       HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES 

allowed,  in  relation  to  the  secondary  question  (of  the  child  of  the 
period  that  is  referred  to),  there  is  no  ground,  grammatical,  historical, 
or  logical,  for  doubt  as  to  the  main  point,  that  the  Church  in  all 
ages  has  been  right  in  regarding  this  passage  as  a  signal  and  explicit 
prediction  of  the  miraculous  conception  and  nativity  of  Jesus  Christ' 

It  has  been  remarked  that  c  the  method  of  giving  a  sign  by  pre- 
dicting something  in  the  near  future  as  a  pledge  for  predictions  that 
belong  to  a  more  remote  time  is  specially  characteristic  of  Isaiah.' 

With  the  general  idea,  that  an  undertone  of  reference  to  the 
person,  times,  and  work  of  Messiah  runs  through  the  whole  prophetic 
Scriptures,  we  can  accept  Dean  Plumptre's  suggestions  as  to  the  first 
and  natural  explanation  of  the  sign.  And  a  clear  understanding  of 
its  immediate  purpose  is  essential  to  an  advance  towards  the  deeper 
allusions  or  prophecies  that  may  be  embodied  in  it.  The  Dean  says  : 
'  We  may  deal  with  this  passage  as  though  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Matthew  had  never  been  written,  as  though  the  facts  which  it  records 
had  no  place  in  the  history  of  mankind.  From  this  point  of  view 
we  get  what  seems  at  first  a  comparatively  simple  exposition.  The 
prophet  offers  a  sign  to  the  faithless  king,  and  the  sign  is  this  :  he 
points  to  some  young  bride  in  either  sense  of  that  word,  and  says 
that  she  shall  conceive  and  bare  a  son.  The  fulfilment  of  that  pre- 
diction in  a  matter  which  lay  outside  the  range  of  human  knowledge 
was  to  be  the  sign  for  Ahaz  and  his  court,  and  she  should  give  that 
son  a  name  which  would  rebuke  the  faithlessness  of  the  king. 
Immanuel,  "  God  with  us,"  would  be  a  nomen  et  omen,  witnessing, 
not  of  an  incarnate  deity,  but  -of  his  living  and  abiding  presence. 
Who  was  the  mother  of  the  child  on  this  theory  we  have  no  data  for 
deciding.  The  natural  birth  of  the  child  Immanual  was,  to  the 
prophet  and  his  generation,  a  pledge  and  earnest  of  the  abiding 
presence  of  God  with  His  people.' 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTES. 


505 


NEW  TESTAMENT. 


*  We  have  no  right  to  insert  miracles  in  the  Gospel  records.' — Dean  Plumptre> 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTES. 

/. — The  Miracles  of  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  considered  as  Evidences 
of  Christianity. 

IT  is  a  marked  feature  of  modern  religious  thought  that  the  evidence 
of  miracles  is  undervalued.  For  those  who  lived  in  our  Lord's  time, 
they  were  of  primary  importance,  because  Christ  had  not  been  long 
enough  among  them  to  make  due  moral  impression  upon  them.  To 
those  who  have  received  direct  impressions  from  Christ  Himself, 
miracles  become  quite  simple,  secondary,  and  comparatively  unim- 
portant things.  The  Christ  is  felt  to  be  greater  than  any  *  works ' 
He  did,  any  '  wonders  '  He  wrought.  In  a  critical  age,  such  as  ours 
is,  no  reported  miracles  can  be  accepted  as  proofs,  because  the  evi- 
dence for  the  miracle  itself  is  not  satisfactory  to  the  critical  mind, 
and  the  wonder  said  to  be  wrought  was  not  submitted  to  scientific 
tests. 

Evidence  by  miracle  can  only  be  effective  for  ages  of  over-faith,  or 
of  lost  faith.  In  simple  childlike,  we  had  almost  said  superstitious, 
times,  supernatural  working  is  at  once  accepted  as  evidence  of  Divine 
presence  and  power.  Untrained  minds,  like  child-minds,  are  over- 
ready  to  accept  the  mysterious.  And  when  faith  in  the  unseen  and 
eternal  has  been  crushed  down  by  scepticism,  formalism,  and  world- 
liness,  then  indications  of  direct  Divine  action,  taking  miraculous 
form,  may  make  an  awakening  impression ;  but  in  the  first  case 
moral  susceptibility  has  not  developed,  and  in  the  latter  case  moral 
susceptibility  has  been  destroyed.  This  is  the  position  we  may  take 
— if  a  man  is  open  to  the  moral  influence  of  Christ  Himself,  he  will 
be  comparatively  indifferent  to  any  evidence  which  may  be  afforded 
by  Christ's  wonder-working.  Christ  is  His  own  evidence. 

This  position  may  be  restated  in  the  language  of  other  writers.  It 
is  a  point  of  importance  in  view  of  the  difficulty  felt  by  many 


506      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

thoughtful  minds  in  accepting  Christianity  on  what  is  called  unverified 
and  unexplained  miracle. 

Dr.  Angus  says  :  '  Men  believed,  in  the  first  age  at  least,  because 
Divine  works  or  miracles  (facts,  that  is,  which  could  not  have  taken 
place  from  natural  causes  or  without  superhuman  aid)  attested  the 
truth  of  the  message.  To  these  works  our  Lord  repeatedly  appealed, 
as  works  which  none  other  man  did,  and  as  an  evidence  of  His 
mission.' 

Archbishop  Trench  says  :  *  The  fact  that  the  kingdom  of  lies  has  its 
wonders  no  less  than  the  kingdom  of  truth,  would  be  alone  sufficient 
to  convince  us  that  miracles  cannot  be  appealed  to  absolutely  and 
simply  in  proof  of  the  doctrine  which  the  worker  of  them  proclaims. 
Miracle  only  claims  the  right  to  be  listened  to — the  doctrine  must 
commend  itself  to  the  conscience  as  good,  only  then  can  a  miracle 
seal  it  as  Divine.  The  first  appeal  is  from  the  doctrine  to  the  con- 
science, the  moral  nature  in  man.  Miracles  are  to  be  the  credentials 
for  the  bearer  of  the  good  word.  When  the  mind  and  conscience 
witness  against  the  doctrine,  not  all  the  miracles  in  the  world  have  a 
right  to  demand  submission  to  the  word  which  they  seal.  The  safe- 
guard from  fatal  errors  lies  altogether  in  men's  moral  and  spiritual, 
and  not  at  all  in  their  intellectual,  condition.' 

Dr.  Arnold  says  :  '  The  substance  of  a  revelation  is  the  most 
essential  part  of  its  evidence ;  and  miracles  wrought  in  favour  of  what 
was  foolish  or  wicked  would  ^nly  prove  Manicheism.'  '  The  character 
of  any  supernatural  power  can  only  be  judged  by  the  moral  character 
of  the  statements  it  sanctions.' 

Renan  states  the  point  more  intensely  than  we  can  approve,  but 
his  words  indicate  the  extreme  modern  position  on  the  present 
evidential  value  of  miracles  :  *  Two  means  of  proof — miracles  and  the 
accomplishment  of  prophecy — could  alone,  _  the  opinion  of  the 
contemporaries  of  Jesus,  establish  a  supernatural  mission.  Many 
circumstances  seem  to  indicate  that  Jesus  only  became  a  thauma- 
turgus  (wonder,  or  miracle-worker),  late  in  life,  and  against  His  incli- 
nation. If  the  thaumaturgus  had  effaced  in  Jesus  the  moralist  and 
religious  reformer,  there  would  have  proceeded  from  Him  a  school  of 
theurgy,  and  not  Christianity.  The  greatest  miracle  would  have 
been  Christ's  refusal  to  perform  any ;  never  would  the  laws  of  history 
and  popular  psychology  have  suffered  so  great  a  derogation.  The 
miracles  of  Jesus  were  a  violence  done  to  Him  by  His  age,  a  con- 
cession forced  from  Him  by  a  passing  necessity.' 

Dr.  Horace  Bushnell  says :  '  To  the  contemporaries  of  Jesus  he 
might  well  enough  be  approved  of  God,  by  miracles  and  signs ;  for, 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTES.  507 

being  themselves  eye-witnesses,  they  could  easily  be  sure  of  the  facts. 
But  to  those  who  saw  them  not,  to  us  who  have  only  heard  of  them 
by  report  of  history,  they  can  never  be  cited  as  proofs ;  because  the 
main  thing  to  settle  is  the  verity  of  the  facts  themselves.  The  Gospel 
history,  instead  of  being  attested  to  us  by  the  miracles,  has  them 
rather  as  a  heavy  burden  resting  on  its  own  credibility.' 

Baden  Powell  says :  *  The  evidential  force  of  miracles  is  wholly 
relative  to  the  apprehension  of  the  parties  addressed.  An  alleged 
miracle  can  only  be  regarded  in  one  of  two  ways:  (i)  abstractedly, 
as  a  physical  event,  and  therefore  to  be  investigated  by  reason  and 
physical  evidence,  and  referred  to  physical  causes,  possibly  to  known 
causes ;  but  at  all  events  to  some  higher  cause  or  law,  if  at  present  un- 
known :  it  then  ceases  to  be  supernatural,  yet  still  it  might  be  appealed 
to  in  support  of  religious  truth,  especially  as  referring  to  the  state  of 
knowledge  and  apprehensions  of  the  parties  addressed  in  past  ages. 
Or  (2)  as  connected  with  religious  doctrine,  regarded  in  a  sacred 
light,  asserted  on  the  authority  of  inspiration.  In  this  case  it  ceases 
to  be  capable  of  investigation  by  reason,  or  to  own  its  dominion ;  it 
is  accepted  on  religious  grounds,  and  can  appeal  only  to  the  principle 
and  influence  of  faith.' 

The  author  of  Ecce  Homo  says  :  *  Some  may  think  that  in  assert- 
ing miracles  to  have  been  actually  wrought  by  Christ,  we  go  beyond 
the  evidence,  perhaps  beyond  what  any  possible  evidence  is  able 
to  sustain.  This  at  least  will  be  admitted,  that  Christ  professed 
to  work  miracles,  and  was  believed  by  His  followers  really  to  work 
them.  The  reality  of  the  miracles  depends  in  a  great  degree  on  the 
opinion  we  form  of  Christ's  veracity,  and  this  opinion  must  arise 
from  the  careful  examination  of  His  life.  By  itself  supernatural  power 
would  not  have  procured  for  Christ  the  kind  of  ascendancy  he 
wanted,  but  exactly  that  ascendancy  which  He  so  decidedly  rejected. 
Supernatural  power  was  not  invariably  connected  in  the  minds  of  the 
ancients  with  God  and  goodness ;  it  was  supposed  to  be  the  gift  of 
evil  spirits  as  well  as  good ;  it  was  regarded  with  horror  in  as  many 
cases  as  with  reverence.' 

J.  Stalker^  in  his  very  suggestive  Life  of  Jesus  Christ^  says:  'It 
was  a  stupendous  claim  which  He  made  on  the  faith  of  men  when 
He  announced  Himself  as  the  Messiah,  and  it  would  have  been 
unreasonable  to  expect  it  to  be  conceded  by  a  nation  accustomed 
to  miracles  as  the  signs  of  a  Divine  mission,  if  He  had  wrought 
none.' 

Miracles,  then,  are  evidences  of  Christianity  to  us  mainly  because 
they  were,  when  wrought,  adequate  evidences  to  those  for  whom 


5o8      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

they  were  wrought.  Our  fuller  evidence  of  a  moral  character  pro- 
perly puts  evidence  from  miracle  in  the  background. 

II. — Miracles  of  our  Lord  considered  as  Illustrations  of  His  Mission. 

They  were  mainly  symbols  of  His  spiritual  and  saving  work,  and 
we  use  them  chiefly  for  their  illustrative  value.  In  this  direction 
they  are  found  to  be  an  inexhaustible  storehouse  for  all  Christian 
teachers. 

Dr.  George  Macdonald  has  put  new  meaning  into  the  miracles  of 
Christ,  by  studying  them  from  this  point  of  view.  The  following 
passage  explains  his  position  :  '  He  has  come,  the  Word  of  God,  that 
we  may  know  God ;  every  word  of  His  then,  as  needful  to  the  know- 
ing of  Himself,  is  needful  to  the  knowing  of  God It  is  but 

natural  to  expect  that  the  deeds  of  the  great  Messenger  should  be 
just  the  works  of  the  Father  done  in  little.  If  He  came  to  reveal 
His  Father  in  miniature,  as  it  were  (for  in  these  unspeakable  things 
we  can  but  use  figures,  and  the  homeliest  may  be  the  holiest),  to  tone 
down  His  great  voice,  which,  too  loud  for  men  to  hear  it  aright,  could 
but  sound  to  them  as  an  inarticulate  thundering,  into  such  a  still 
small  voice  as  might  enter  their  human  ears  in  welcome  human 
speech  ;  then  the  works  that  His  Father  does  so  widely,  so  grandly, 
that  they  transcend  the  vision  of  men,  the  Son  must  do  briefly  and 
sharply  before  their  very  eyes.  This,  I  think,  is  the  true  nature  of 
the  miracles  ;  an  epitome  of  God's  processes  in  nature  beheld  in 
immediate  connection  with  their  source — a  source  as  yet  lost  to  the 
eyes,  and  too  often  to  the  hearts  of  men  in  the  far-receding  grada- 
tions of  continuous  law.  That  men  might  see  the  will  of  God  at 
work,  Jesus  did  the  works  of  the  Father  thus  ....  The  miracles 
are  surely  less  than  those  mighty  goings  on  of  nature  with  God  beheld 
at  their  heart.  In  the  name  of  Him  who  delighted  to  say,  "  My 
Father  is  greater  than  I,"  I  will  say  that  His  miracles  in  bread  and 
wine  were  far  less  grand  and  less  beautiful  than  the  works  of  the 
Father  they  represented,  in  making  the  corn  to  grow  in  the  valleys, 
and  the  grapes  to  drink  the  sunlight  on  the  hillsides  of  the  world, 
with  all  their  infinitudes  of  tender  gradation  and  delicate  mystery  of 
birth.  But  the  Son  of  the  Father  be  praised,  who-  as  it  were,  con- 
densed these  mysteries  before  us,  and  let  us  see  the  precious  gifts 
coming  at  once  from  gracious  hands — hands  that  love  could  kiss 
and  nails  could  wound.'  '  What  in  the  hands  of  the  Father  are  the 
mighty  motions,  and  progresses,  and  conquests  of  life,  in  the  hands  of 
the  Son  are  miracles.' 

A  more  familiar  way  of  setting  forth  the  illustrative  value  of  Christ's 


IN  TROD  UCTOR  Y  NOTES.  509 

miracles  is  given  by  Stalker :  '  You  have  only  to  consider  the  miracles 
for  a  moment  to  see  that  they  were,  as  a  whole,  triumphs  over  the 
misery  of  the  world.  Mankind  is  the  prey  of  a  thousand  evils,  and 
even  the  frame  of  external  nature  bears  the  mark  of  some  past 
catastrophe.  "The  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain." 
This  huge  mass  of  physical  evil  in  the  lot  of  mankind  is  the  effect  of 
sin.  Not  that  every  disease  and  misfortune  can  be  traced  to  special 
sin,  although  some  of  them  can.  The  consequences  of  past  sin  are 
distributed  in  detail  over  the  whole  race.  But  yet  the  misery  of  the 
world  is  the  shadow  of  its  sin.  Material  and  moral  evil  being  thus 
intimately  related,  mutually  illustrate  each  other.  When  He  healed 
bodily  blindness,  it  was  a  type  of  the  healing  of  the  inner  eye ;  when 
He  raised  the  dead,  He  meant  to  suggest  that  He  was  the  Resurrec- 
tion and  the  Life  in  the  spiritual  world  as  well ;  when  He  cleansed 
the  leper,  His  triumph  spoke  of  another  over  the  leprosy  of  sin ; 
when  He  multiplied  the  loaves,  He  followed  the  miracle  with  a 
discourse  on  the  Bread  of  life ;  when  He  stilled  the  storm,  it  was  an 
assurance  that  He  could  speak  peace  to  the  troubled  conscience.' 

III. — On  the  Manifestation  of  Miraculous  Power  at  Special  Times. 

'The  Scriptures  record  three  eras  signalized  by  displays  of  the 
supernatural ;  which  three  periods  stand  associated  respectively  with 
three  great  names — Moses,  Elijah,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The 
performance  of  wonders  is  related  of  other  times ;  but  only  these 
deserve  to  be  called  the  ages  of  miracles. 

*  The  reasons  for  the  distinction  must  be  sought  in  peculiarity  of 
circumstance,  and  in  special  Providential  ends  requiring  extraordinary 
measures  for  their  accomplishment.     In  the  first  instance,  a  people, 
long  sunk  in  ignorance  and  degradation,  were  to  be  liberated  from 
serfdom,  trained  in  virtue,  and  made  keepers  of  the  oracles  of  God. 
The  second  period  was  that  of  a  much-needed  reformation  in  the 
kingdom  of  Israel ;  when  a  desperate  effort  was  put  forth  to  recall 
the  Ten  Tribes  from  idolatrous  apostasy,  that  it  might  not  involve 
them  in  final  rejection  and  ruin.     The  third  was  the  age  of  Messiah's 
coming ;  when  the  revealed  religion  reached  its  full  development,  and 
was  offered  to  all  mankind. 

*  These  were  crises  of  unparalleled  importance.     If  it  ever  com- 
ported with   the  wisdom    and  goodness  of  the  Supreme,  for  His 
power  to  be  exceptionally  seen  on  the  theatre  of  human  affairs,  it 
would  be  fitting  for  the  manifestation  to  appear  at  such  pregnant 
times. 


5io      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

*  This  is  eminently  true  of  the  first  and  third  of  the  specified  eras — 
those  momentous  starting-points  in  the  history  of  man  !     On  looking 
back  over  the  page  of  history,  we  meet  with  no  other  junctures  that 
called  so  imperatively  for  Divine  interposition,  in   order  that  the 
minds  of  men  might  be  impressed  with  unusual  tokens  of  God's 
presence   and  will.     If  these   periods   had   been   passed  by,  none 
could   have   laid  claim  to   the  sublime   distinction.     Every  one  of 
the  three  dusters  of  signs  stands  when  and  where  it  was  most  to  be 
expected. 

*  These  groups  of  miracles  support  one  another.     The  first  leads 
the  way  to  those  which  follow,  and  the  last  helps  us  to  believe  the 
preceding.     The  Christian  wonders  have  the  advantage  of  being  the 
most  accessible  to  inquiry,  because  the  nearest  to  our  own  day,  and 
within  the  range  of  collateral  history.     And  when  the  credentials  of 
the  latest  satisfy,  the  way  is  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  more 
remote.     As  the  members  of  a  series,  Scripture  signs  are  so  far 
mutually  confirmatory,  that  persons  who  feel  certified  of  any  will  have 
little  difficulty  in  accepting  the  rest.    If  the  authenticity  of  our  Lord's 
works  is  proved,  they  go  a  great  way  towards  establishing  the  credit  of 
all  the  extraordinary  things  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament.' — Prof. 

W.  Griffiths,  M.A. 

Trench,  comparing  our  Lord's  with  the  earlier  miracles,  says :  *  The 
works  of  our  Lord,  though  they  bear  not  on  their  front  the  imposing 
character  which  did  those  of  old,  yet  contain  higher  and  deeper 
truths.  They  are  eminently  miracles  of  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son 
of  God  who  had  taken  our  flesh,  and  taking,  would  heal  it.  They 
have  predominantly  a  relation  to  man's  body  and  his  spirit.  Miracles 
of  nature  assume  now  altogether  a  subordinate  place;  they  still 
survive,  even  as  we  could  have  ill  afforded  wholly  to  have  lost  them; 
for  this  region  of  nature  must  still  be  claimed  as  part  of  Christ's 
dominion,  though  not  its  chiefest  or  its  noblest  province.  Man, 
and  not  nature,  is  now  the  main  subject  of  these  mighty  powers ; 
and  thus  it  comes  to  pass  that,  with  less  of  outward  pomp,  less  to 
startle  and  amaze,  the  new  have  a  yet  deeper  inward  significance 
than  the  old.' 


THE   WONDERFUL  BIRTH.  51 1 


The  Wonderful  Birth. 

LUKE  i.  38  :  '  And  Mary  said,  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord  ;  be  it  unto 
me  according  to  thy  word. 

Difficulty. — If  our  Lord  came  into  the  world  in  such  a  super- 
natural manner,  there  must  be  some  limitations  on  our  conception  of 
Him,  as  a  real  fellow-man. 

Explanation. — It  is  not  easy  to  treat  this  profound  and  delicate 
subject  with  a  becoming  reticence ;  and  the  doctrinal  points  con- 
nected with  the  Incarnation  will  be  considered  elsewhere.  We  limit 
ourselves  here  to  one  point  Previous  manifestations  of  God  to  men 
had  taken  the  temporary  form  and  appearance  of  men,  and  we  call 
them  '  angel  manifestations.'  They  were  cases  of  God  revealing  His 
mind  to  His  servants  through  an  unreal  human  appearance,  which, 
however,  made  due  impressions  on  man's  senses ;  and  these  senses 
of  sight,  hearing,  and  even  touch,  became  the  media  of  communi- 
cation with  God. 

These -were  but  foreshadowings  of,  and  preparations  for,  a  mani- 
festation of  God  to  man  in  an  actual,  complete  human  life  of  flesh, 
and  blood,  and  relations.  God  proposed  to  show  men  in  a  man  the 
kind  of  man  He  planned  at  first.  He  made  man  in  His  image  in 
order  that  man's  life  might  become  His  shrine.  Adam,  in  the  name 
of  his  race,  filled  the  throne  with  self-will.  Now  God  would  send 
forth  into  the  world  a  man,  who  should  go  about  among  his  fellow- 
men  as  the  shrine  of  God ;  in  Him  God  dwelt  and  ruled. 

To  make  due  impression  on  us,  this  Man  must  be  felt  to  be  really 
one  of  us.  That  impression  could  only  be  produced  in  one  way.  He 
must  be  born  of  a  woman  as  we  are  born.  It  is  the  mother  who  gives 
the  bodily  form  to  the  new  life.  The  origination  of  the  life  is  always 
the  work  of  God.  In  this  new  life  was  to  be  found  a  new  starting  of 
the  race,  and  so,  as  the  first  Adam  came  forth  in  his  maturity  by  the 
direct  creation  of  God,  the  second  Adam  came  forth  under  ordinary 
womanly  conditions,  by  an  act  of  Divine  origination.  The  true 
humanity  of  Jesus  is  sealed  for  us  in  this,  that  He  was  born  under 
the  ordinary  earthly  conditions,  or,  as  Scripture  expresses  it,  '  born  of 
a  woman.' 

It  may  suffice  to  confirm  our  point  by  a  restatement  of  it  in  the 
language  of  Pressense,  which,  though  similar  to  that  of  Neander  and 
others,  will  be  somewhat  clearer  to  the  general  reader :  '  He  who  ii 
to  be  the  head  of  a  new  race  which  is  to  be  at  once  Divine  and 
human— the  realization,  that  is  to  say,  of  its  primitive  type— cannot 


5 1 2      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

be  simply  one  of  the  links  of  the  long  chain  of  natural  generations, 
all  tainted  with  the  evil  which  has,  as  it  were,  become  incorporated 
in  a  fallen  race.  It  is  impossible  that  He  should  save  humanity,  if 
He  has  to  say  with  David,  "  I  was  conceived  in  sin."  We  must 
make,  as  it  were,  a  new  beginning ;  and  the  second  Adam  cannot 
destroy  the  work  of  the  first,  except  on  condition  that  He  be  not  of 
his  descent.  He  must  be  born  of  a  woman,  and  assume  a  truly 
human  nature ;  but  it  is  equally  essential  that  the  active  cause  of 
His  earthly  being  be  not  a  corrupt  humanity,  but  the  Divine  and 
creative  principle.  As  to  explanation  of  this  mystery,  we  can  offer 
none  but  'such  as  is  contained  in  the  words,  "  With  God  nothing  is 
impossible ;"  this  will  suffice  for  every  believer  in  the  Omnipotent 
mercy,  which  is  the  one  foundation  of  the  supernatural.' 


Money  in  a  Fish. 

MATTHEW  xvii.  27  :  *  But,  lest  we  cause  them  to  stumble,  go  thou  to  the  sea, 
and  cast  a  hook,  and  take  up  the  fish  that  first  cometh  up  ;  and  when  thou  hast 
opened  his  mouth,  thou  shall  find  a  shekel  :  that  take,  and  give  unto  them  for  Me 
and  thee'  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — This  appears  to  be  opposed  to  our  Lord's  rule  of  using 
His  miraculous  powers  only  for  ends  of  service  to  others,  never  merely 
to  meet  His  own  wants^  or  to  preserve  Himself  from  danger. 

Explanation. — Ends  of  service  to  others  must  not  be  limited  to 
physical  blessings ;  it  must  include  moral  blessings.  Miracles  may, 
within  the  line  of  Christ's  rule,  be  used  for  moral  teaching,  for  the 
religious  education  of  one  person,  or  of  money.  Several  of  our 
Lord's  most  striking  miracles  are  explicable  only  in  view  of  the 
educational  ends  sought  by  them.  This  particular  miracle  is  rela- 
tive to  Peter,  and  is  a  part  of  our  Lord's  service  to  him.  Money  for 
the  purpose  of  taxation  could  have  been  procured  from  some  other 
and  ordinary  source ;  but  our  Lord  saw  an  opportunity  of  impressing 
the  deeper  truth  concerning  Himself  upon  this  leading  disciple,  and 
therefore  made  him  the  agent  in  proving  a  miracle  of  foreknowledge. 
We  are  willing  to  admit  that  this  case  is  a  most  unusual  one,  and 
that  there  is  -not  another  of  our  Lord's  works  with  which  it  can 
properly  be  compared ;  but  the  end  sought  by  it  is  of  sufficient  import- 
ance to  justify  it,  and  to  show  it  to  be  in  essential  harmony  with  our 
Lord's  principle  in  the  use  of  miraculous  power. 

Trench  brings  out  the  educational  relation  of  the  miracle  to  Peter 
with  much  force.  On  being  asked  whether  his  Master  pays  the 
ordinary  Jewish  tax  of  a  half-shekel,  *  Peter  at  once  replies  in  the 


MONEY  IN  A  FISH.  513 

affirmative.  Zealous  for  his  Lord's  honour,  and  confident  that  His 
piety  would  make  Him  prompt  in  whatever  God's  ordinance  required, 
he  pledges  Him  without  hesitation  to  the  payment.  Yet  was  he 
overhasty  in  this.  There  was  on  his  part  a  failing  here  to  recognise 
the  higher  dignity  of  his  Lord  ;  it  was  not  in  this  spirit  that  he  had 
exclaimed  a  little  while  before,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  Living  God."  For  the  time,  at  least,  he  had  lost  sight  of  his 
Lord's  true  position  and  prerogative,  that  He  was  a  Son  over  His  own 
house,  and  not  a  servant  in  another's ;  the  Head  of  the  theocracy, 
not  one  of  its  subordinate  members,  so  that  it  was  to  Him  in  His 
Father  that  offerings  were  to  be  made,  not  from  Him  to  be  received. 
This  last  had  been  out  of  all  reason ;  for  He  who  was  to  be  a  ransom 
for  all  other  souls  could  not  properly  give  a  ransom  for  His  own.  It 
was  not  for  Him  who  was  "  greater  than  the  temple,"  and  Himself 
the  true  temple  (John  ii.  21.),  identical  with  it  according  to  its 
spiritual  significance,  and  in  whom  the  Shekinah  glory  dwelt,  to  pay 
dues  for  the  support  of  that  other  temple  built  with  hands,  which  was 
now  fast  losing  its  significance,  since  in  His  flesh  the  true  tabernacle 
was  set  up,  which  the  Lord  had  pitched  and  not  man.  It  is  then 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  back  Peter,  and  with  him  the  other 
disciples,  to  the  true  recognition  of  Himself,  from  which  they  had 
in  part  fallen,  that  the  Lord  puts  to  him  the  question  which  follows. 
And  for  the  same  reason,  being  engaged  through  Peter's  hasty  impru- 
dence, to  the  rendering  of  the  didrachm,  which  now  He  could 
scarcely  recede  from,  He  yet  does  it  in  the  remarkable  way  of  this 
present  miracle — a  miracle  which  should  testify  that  all  things  served 
Him,  from  the  greatest  to  the  least,  even  to  the  fishes  that  walked 
through  the  paths  of  the  sea — that  He  was  Lord  over  nature,  and, 
having  nothing,  yet  in  His  Father's  care  for  Him,  was  truly  possessed 
of  all  things.  For  here,  as  so  often  in  the  life  of  our  Lord,  the  depth 
of  His  poverty  and  humiliation  is  lighted  up  by  a  gleam  of  His 
glory;  while,  by  the  manner  of  the  payment,  He  re-asserted  the 
true  dignity  of  His  person,  which  else  by  the  payment  itself  was 
in  danger  of  being  obscured,  and  compromised  in  the  eyes  of  some. 
The  miracle,  then,  was  to  supply  a  real  need— slight,  indeed,  as  an 
outward  need,  for  the  money  could  assuredly  have  been  in  some  other 
and  more  ordinary  way  procured  ;  but  as  an  inner  need,  most  rea/.' 


33 


514      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
Early  Church  Miracles. 

MARK  xvi.  17,  18:  'And  these  signs  shall  follow  them  that  believe:  in  My 
name  shall  they  cast  out  devils ;  they  shall  speak  with  new  tongues  ;  they  shall 
take  up  serpents,  and  if  they  drink  any  deadly  thing,  it  shall  in  no  wise  hurt  them  ; 
they  shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  recover  '  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Questions. — Are  we  to  think  of  these  poivers,  or  gifts,  as  distributed 
among  the  disciples,  or  as  the  endowment  of  each  and  all  of  the  disciphs  ; 
and  are  we  right  in  assuming  that  miraculous  powers  were  limited  to 
the  Apostolic  age  f 

Answer. — Our  Lord's  intention  in  making  this  assurance  is  best 
understood  by  examining  the  way  in  which  His  promise  was  fulfilled. 
St.  Paul  clearly  teaches  that  there  was  a  distribution  of  gifts. 
Writing  to  the  Corinthians  (ch.  xii.  4-11.),  the  Apostle  speaks  of 
"  diversities  of  gifts,"  wisdom,  knowledge,  faith,  healing,  miracles, 
prophecy,  discerning  of  spirits,  divers  tongues,  interpretation  of 
tongues  ;  and  he  adds,  *  All  these  worketh  that  one  and  the  self-same 
Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man  severally  as  he  will.'  From  this  we 
gather  that  our  Lord's  promise  was  fulfilled  in  the  Church  as  a  whole, 
but  each  individual  member  had  his  own  special  gift. 

The  answer  to  the  second  question  depends  on  the  view  we  may 
take  of  the  necessity  for  permanent  outward  signs  of  superhuman 
power  as  evidences  of  Christianity.  Miracles  must  in  their  very 
nature  be  temporary.  As  soon  as  the  things  which  we  call  miracles 
become  permanent  and  regular,  they  come  into  the  natural  order, 
and  cease  to  be  surprises.  We  are  familiar  with  them,  and  they  no 
longer  bear  testimony  to  us  of  Divine  interferences  and  adjustments. 
It  may  also  be  urged,  that  when  miracles  have  done  their  precise 
work,  they  have  accredited  messengers,  and  then  they  leave  us  to 
listen  to  the  messengers,  feel  their  personal  influence,  and  receive  the 
cruth  they  have  to  teach. 

But  no  one  can  safely  venture  to  "say  that  miracles  may  not  again 
be  wrought,  and  again  be  used  as  signs  and  evidences.  That  must 
depend  on  man's  mental  and  moral  conditions  in  any  particular  age. 
We  can  quite  conceive  of  the  influence  of  formality  on  the  one  hand, 
and  scepticism  on  the  other,  producing  such  a  spiritual — or  rather 
unspiritual — condition,  that  again,  in  appropriate  ways,  the  direct 
intervention  of  God,  by  miraculous  workings,  may  be  necessary. 
Such  signs  will  surely  be  given  whenever  such  signs  are  needed ;  and 
of  the  need  only  the  great  Searcher  Himself  can  fitly  judge. 

Dr.  Bushnell  argues  thus :  '  It  does  not  follow  that,  if  the  canon 
of  Scripture  is  closed  up,  there  is  no  longer  any  use  or  place  for 


DRIVING  OUT  OF  DEVILS.  515 

miracles  and  spiritual  gifts.  That  is  a  conclusion  taken  by  a  mere 
act  of  judgment,  when  plainly  no  judgment  of  man  is  able  to  pene- 
trate the  secrets  and  grasp  the  economic  reasons  of  God's  empire, 
with  sufficient  insight  to  affirm  anything  on  a  subject  so  deep  and 
difficult.  There  may  certainly  be  reasons  for  such  miracles  and  gifts 
of  the  Spirit,  apart  from  any  authentication  of  new  books  of  Scripture. 
Indeed,  they  might  possibly  be  wanted  even  the  more,  to  break  up 
the  monotony  likely  to  follow,  when  revelations  have  ceased  and  the 
word  of  Scripture  is  for  ever  closed  up ;  wanted  possibly  to  lift  the 
Church  out  of  the  abysses  of  a  mere  second-hand  religion,  keeping  it 
alive  and  open  to  the  realities  of  God's  immediate  visitation. 

Driving  out  of  Devils. 

MARK  i.  34 . :  '  And  He  healed  many  that  were  sick  of  divers  diseases,  and  cast 
out  many  devils ;  and  suffered  not  the  devils  to  speak,  because  they  knew  Him.' 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  this  devil-possession  as  a  form 
of  suffering  peculiar  to  the  time  of  Christ ',  or  was  it  only  a  term  under 
which  known  and  common  forms  of  disease  were  classified  ? 

Answer. — It  is  remarkable  that  no  Evangelist  alludes  to  devil- 
possession  as  in  any  way  fresh  or  astonishing.  They  treat  it  as  a  very 
sad,  but  very  common  form  of  human  suffering ;  and  unless  we  have 
satisfied  ourselves  that  the  Jewish  notions  about  evil  spirits  are  sub- 
stantially true,  we  cannot  find  more  in  this  so-called  devil-possession 
than  an  attempt  to  explain  cases  of  disease  which  were  obscure  then, 
and  are  obscure  still. 

Evidently  the  name  is  applied  to  essentially  different  cases  of 
suffering.  Some  are  plain  cases  of  severe  epilepsy  ;  others  are  as  plainly 
cases  of  hysteria  ;  yet  others  of  ordinary  mania  or  melancholia.  But 
it  must  be  admitted,  that  the  most  important  instances  cannot  be 
regarded  as  ordinary  cases  of  brain  or  nerve  disease.  There  is  no 
ground  for  assuming  any  special  activity  of  evil  spirits  in  Christ's  day ; 
and  probably  a  proper  understanding  of  the  class  of  diseases  of  which 
delirium  tremens  may  be  taken  as  the  type,  would  enable  us  to  explain 
the  special  features  of  the  most  perplexing  cases. 

In  delirium  tremens  we  have  this  peculiarity — the  craving  for  drink 
has  becoming  a  separate  and  master  power,  controlling  the  man's  will : 
so  that  in  some  things  the  man  may  be  ordering  his  life,  and  in  other 
things  the  drink-spirit  is  ordering  his  life.  The  man  is  possessed 
with  an  evil  spirit — the  demon  of  drink.  Sometimes  the  man  speaks ; 
at  other  times  the  demon-spirit  masters  the  man,  and  speaks  through 
him ;  and  this  is  one  of  the  features  of  the  devil-possessions  narrated 

33~a 


5t6      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

in  the  Gospels  ;  probably  it  is  the  one  which  occasions  most  difficulty, 
and  gives  most  support  to  the  notion  of  an  indwelling  of  an  in- 
dividual and  personal  evil  spirit. 

Now,  the  case  of  delirium  tremens  is  only  an  intense  case  of  habit. 
All  habits  if  unresisted  tend  to  become  masterful,  they  grow  to  be 
*  second  selves' ;  they  compel  us  to  do  what  we  would  not ;  they  are 
a  sort  of  spirit  in  us,  a  second  will  controlling,  and  even  crushing 
our  wills.  It  is  a  great  law  for  our  life  that  if  we  do  not  resist  inclina- 
tion and  evil  when  we  may,  we  shall  not  be  able  to  do  so  when  we 
would. 

What  applies  generally  to  bodily  and  mental  habits,  applies  in  a 
very  special  way  to  habits  in  which  the  passions  are  concerned. 
There  is  a  disease  of  indulged  sensuality  just  answering  to  delirium 
trtmensj  which  may  also  truly  be  regarded  as  a  devil-possession  :  and 
some  of  the  cases  with  which  our  Lord  dealt — notably  the  case  of  the 
man  at  Gadara — were  of  this  class. 

It  is  more  helpful  to  us  to  see  that  our  Lord  bore  saving  relations 
to  the  precise  conditions  in  which  men  are  actually  found,  and 
delivered  men  from  the  precise  bondages  in  which  they  were  enslaved, 
than  to  imagine  men  suffering  from  some  unknown  forms  of  disease 
or  possession,  sent  for  a  time,  that  Christ's  power  may  gain  extra- 
ordinary illustration.  Our  conviction  that  our  Lord  can  help  and 
deliver  us  lies  just  in  this,  that  we  feel  sure  He  dealt — while  He  was 
here — with  the  sorrows,  woes,  and  slaveries  that  were  "  common  to 
men  "  in  every  age ;  however  true  it  may  be  that  they  take  on  intenser 
forms  in  some  conditions  of  social  life  than  in  others. 

Trench  gives  a  note  from  a  medical  work,  by  Bright  and  Addison^ 
which  clearly  recognises  a  double  consciousness  as  a  symptom  of 
delirium  tremens.  '  In  his  most  tranquil  and  collected  moments  he 
is  not  to  be  trusted ;  for  the  transition  from  that  state  to  the  greatest 
violence  is  instantaneous  :  he  is  often  recalled  by  a  word  to  an 
apparent  state  of  reason,  but  as  quickly  his  false  impressions  return ; 
there  is  sometimes  evidence,  at  the  time,  of  a  state  of  double  con- 
sciousness, a  condition  of  mind  which  is  sometimes  remembered  by 
the  patient  when  the  paroxysm  is  over.' 

If  we  take,  then,  the  typical  instances  of  the  devil-possessions  as 
cases  of  weakened  and  mastered  personal  will,  we  shall  get  more  im- 
pressive views  of  the  Divine  power  of  our  Lord,  whose  supreme 
work  in  man  is  the  regeneration  and  adequate  strengthening  of  the 
human  will.  We  shall  see  His  work  of  grace,  in  us  all,  effectively 
illustrated  in  His  restoring  the  will-power  of  these  demoniacs,  and 
putting  them  in  their  right  mind. 


DRIVING  O  UT  OF  DE  VILS.  5 , 7 

A  due  consideration  of  this  subject  would  require  a  treatise,  and 
we  can  only  suggest  the  one  explanation  which  seems  to  us  every 
way  reasonable  and  probable.  It  may,  however,  be  wise  to  add  a 
few  remarks  on  the  Jewish  way  of  regarding  evil,  and  especially  evil 
taking  obscure  forms,  as  the  action  of  demons.  *  All  mental  aberra 
tion,  all  sudden  sickness,  all  melancholy  tendencies,  all  unexpected 
obstacles,  were,  and  in  the  East  still  are,  regarded  as  due  to  the 
direct  influence  of  demons  (devils).  These  demons  they  believed  to 
be  the  spirits  of  the  wicked.  That  they  regarded  as  demoniacal 
possession  what  we  regard  as  epilepsy  and  mania  is  certain.' 
— Farrar. 

Dr.  Edersheim  does  not  take  the  view  which  we  have  suggested, 
but  the  following  striking  passage  gives  our  explanation  valuable 
philosophical  support.  (See  Life  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  vol.  i.,  p.  608.) 
'  We  repeat,  that  this  must  be  kept  in  view  as  characteristic  of  the 
demonized,  that  they  were  incapable  of  separating  their  own  consci- 
ousness and  ideas  from  the  influence  of  the  demon,  their  own 
identity  being  merged,  and  to  that  extent  lost,  in  that  of  their 
tormentors.  In  this  respect  the  demonized  state  was  also  kindred  to 
madness.  Self-consciousness,  or  rather  what  may  be  termed  indi- 
viduism,  /.*.,  the  consciousness  of  separate  and  independent  indi- 
viduality, and  with  it  the  power  of  self-origination  in  matters  mental 
and  moral  (which  some  might  term  an  aspect  of  free  volition), 
distinguish  the  human  soul  from  the  mere  animal  spirit.  But  in 
maniacal  disease  this  power  is  an  abeyance,  or  temporarily  lost 
through  physical  causes,  such  as  disease  of  the  brain  as  the  medium 
of  communication  between  the  mind  and  the  world  of  sense  \  disease 
of  the  nervous  system,  through  which  ordinarily  impressions  are  con- 
veyed to  and  from  the  sensorium ;  or  disease  of  both  brain  and 
nervous  system,  when  previously  existing  impressions  on  the  brain 
(in  memory,  and  hence  possibly  imagination)  may  be  excited  with- 
out corresponding  outward  causes.  If  in  such  case  the  absolute 
power  of  self-origination  and  self-action  is  lost  to  the  mind,  habits  of 
sin  and  vice  (or  moral  disease)  may  have  an  analogous  effect  as 
regards  moral  freedom — the  power  of  moral  self-origination  and 
action.  In  the  demonized  state  the  two  appear  combined,  the  cause 
being  neither  disease  or  vice,  but  the  presence  of  a  superior  power  of 
evil.'  In  this  last  assumption  we  do  not  follow  Dr.  Edersheim. 
Disease  and  vice  sufficiently  account  for  all  the  phenomena  of  so- 
called  'demonism,'  on  Dr.  Edersheim's  own  lines;  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  we  should  call  in  to  our  aid  vague  and  mysterious  con- 
ceptions of  actual  possessing  demons. 


Si8     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

One  grave  difficulty,  however,  is  our  Lord's  using  language  con- 
cerning these  sufferers  which  is  thus  shown  not  to  be  strictly 
accurate.  He  spoke  of  '  spirits '  possessing  the  men ;  but  did  He 
know  that  they  were  cases  of  disease  or  indulged  habit?  This 
difficulty  really  rests  on  our  notion  that  Jesus  was  omniscient  in  the 
sphere  of  His  earthly  life.  As  God,  He  was  omniscient ;  but  the 
glory  of  the  Incarnation  is,  that  He  limited  Himself  to  the  thought- 
sphere,  word-sphere,  and  life-sphere,  not  only  of  a  man,  but  also  of  a 
Jew,  and  of  a  Jew  born  in  that  particular  age.  As  man,  he  spoke  of 
a  common  disease  of  the  time  in  the  language  commonly  used  about 
it.  It  was  no  part  of  our  Lord's  earthly  mission  to  correct  the 
mistakes  of  common  speech,  or  the  misconception  of  medical,  or  any 
other,  science.  He  condescended  to  accept  the  thought  and 
language  limitations  of  His  age. 

Christ's  Invisibility. 

LUKE  iv.  30  :  '  But  He,  passing  through  the  midst  of  them,  went  His  way.' 
JOHN  viii.  59  :  '  They  took  up  stones  therefore  to  cast  at  Him  :  but  Jesus  hid 

Himself,  and  went  out  of  the  temple '  (Rev.  Ver.). 
JOHN  x.  39  :  « They  sought  again  to  take  Him  :  and  He  went  forth  out  of  their 

hand '  (Rev.  Ver.}. 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  the  Evangelists  to  mean  that,  on 
these  occasions,  our  Lord  wrought  a  miracle  to  ensure  His  own  safety y 
and  made  Himself  invisible  to  those  who  would  seize  Him  ? 

Answer. — No  such  thing  is  directly  stated  in  either  instance. 
Making  Himself  invisible  is  the  ready  explanation  of  what  occurred 
which  men  have  given  ;  so  we  need  not  hesitate  to  inquire  whether 
any  better  account  of  the  incidents  can  be  suggested.  The  Word  of 
God  simply  says  that  our  Lord  passed  through  the  crowd  and  excite- 
ment uninjured ;  and  by  comparing  the  Revised  Version,  in  the  two- 
latter  cases,  with  the  Received  Version,  it  will  be  seen  that  some  of 
the  difficulty  attaches  to  the  earlier  and  more  imperfect  translation. 

Seeking  analogies  from  other  parts  of  Scripture,  we  are  reminding 
of  the  mental  confusion,  or  blindness,  of  the  Sodomites,  who  wearied 
themselves  to  find  the  door ;  and  the  delusion  of  the  Syrians  who 
came  to  seize  Elisha,  and  were  led  by  him  into  Samaria. 

The  instance  recorded  by  John  are  simply  cases  of  prudence  and 
skill  in  managing.  There  is  nothing  of  the  miraculous  suggested  in 
them :  the  instance  given  by  Luke  is  more  suggestive  of  special 
putting  forth  of  Divine  power. 

It  is  necessary,  however,  to  keep  in  mind  that  it  was  a  fixed 
principle  with  our  Lord,  one  which  expressed  His  loyalty  to  God, 


CHRIST'S  INVISIJ3ILITY.  5 , 9 

that  he  would  not  use  His  miraculous  gifts  or  powers  for  His  own 
safety,  or  His  own  service;  and  we  therefore  require  thoroughly 
sufficient  proofs  of  any  particular  case  which  appears  to  be  opposed 
to  His  established  principle  of  action.  If,  on  this  occasion  at 
Nazareth,  our  Lord  saved  Himself  by  a  miracle,  evidence  of  the 
miracle  should  be  given,  and  it  should  be  shown  that  only  a  miracu" 
lous  interpretation  will  meet  the  difficulty  of  the  case. 

If  the  people  from  the  synagogue  were  unitedly  set  on  the  seizure 
of  Jesus,  only  some  putting  forth  of  His  supreme  power  could  have 
saved  Him.  But  if  the  people  from  the  synagogue  were  quarrelling 
and  struggling  among  themselves,  some  opposing  Christ  and  some 
standing  up  for  Him,  our  Lord  might  easily,  and  in  quite  a  natural 
way,  secure  His  escape.  We  will  seek  the  help  of  good  Bible 
writers  in  our  endeavour  to  form  a  correct  view  of  the  incident 

Farrar  says :  '  There  is  no  need  to  suppose  an  actual  miracle ;  still 
less  to  imagine  a  secret  and  sudden  escape  into  the  narrow  and 
tortuous  lanes  of  the  town.  Perhaps  His  silence,  perhaps  the  calm 
nobleness  of  His  bearing,  perhaps  the  dauntless  innocence  of  His 
gaze  overawed  them.  Apart  from  anything  supernatural,  there  seems 
to  have  been  in  the  presence  of  Jesus  a  spell  of  mystery  and  of 
majesty  which  even  His  most  ruthless  and  hardened  enemies 
acknowledged,  and  before  which  they  involuntarily  bowed.  It  was 
to  this  that  He  owed  His  escape  when  the  maddened  Jews  in  the 
Temple  took  up  stones  to  stone  Him ;  it  was  this  that  made  the  bold 
and  bigoted  officers  of  the  Sanhedrim  unable  to  arrest  Him  as  He  taught 
in  public  during  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  at  Jerusalem ;  it  was  this 
that  made  the  armed  band  of  His  enemies,  at  His  mere  look,  fall 
before  Him  to  the  ground  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane.  Suddenly, 
quietly,  He  asserted  His  freedom,  waived  aside  His  captors,  and 
overawing  them  by  His  simple  glance,  passed  through  their  midst 
unharmed.  Similar  events  have  occurred  in  history,  and  continue 
still  to  occur.  There  is  something  in  defenceless  and  yet  dauntless 
dignity  that  calms  even  the  fury  of  a  mob.  "  They  stood— stopped— 
inquired — were  ashamed—  fled — separated." ' 

Farrar  adds,  in  a  footnote :  '  Some  of  my  readers  may  be  aware  of 
an  instance  in  which  a  clergyman,  still  living,  walked  untouched 
through  the  very  midst  of  a  brutal  and  furious  London  mob,  who  had 
assembled  for  the  express  purpose  of  insulting  and  assaulting  him. 
It  was  observed  by  more  than  one  spectator,  that  if  he  had  wavered 
for  a  single  instant,  or  shown  the  slightest  sign  of  fear  and  irresolu- 
tion, he  would  in  all  probability  have  been  struck  down,  and  possibly 
have  not  escaped  with  his  life.' 


520      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

Geikie  dismisses  the  matter  in  a  sentence  :  *  His  time  was  not  yet 
come.  A  spell  cast  on  the  fierce  mob,  opened  a  way  for  Him,  and 
He  passed  through  and  left  the  town  unhurt.' 

Neander  says:  'The  protecting  hand  of  God  alone  saved  Him 
from  the  death  which  threatened  Him.' 

Ohhausen  says  :  *  These  words  in  themselves  certainly  do  not  indi- 
cate anything  miraculous ;  some  fortunate  accident  might  have  made 
it  possible  for  an  individual  to  escape  from  the  excited  and  irritated 
inhabitants  of  a  whole  city.  But  anyone  who  holds  that  nothing 
happens  by  accident,  and  that  least  of  all  this  could  be  the  case  in 
the  history  of  the  Son  of  God,  anyone,  moreover,  who  inquires 
exegetically  into  the  view  of  the  writer,  must  be  forced  to  confess  the 
meaning  here  expressed  to  be  this,  Jesus  departed  through  the  midst 
of  them  without  restraint  or  hindrance,  insomuch  as  being  the 
Mighty  One,  His  Divine  power  held  their  limbs  and  senses  bound. 
No  one  could  take  from  Him  His  life,  unless  when  He  freely 
gave  it' 

Kitto  says  :  *  On  the  way  He  escaped  out  of  their  hands — whether 
by  miracle  or  by  the  exercise  of  natural  providence,  aided  by  the 
presence  of  His  disciples,  is  not  recorded.' 

The  Speaker's  Commentary  says  :  '  It  is  not  very  clear  whether  we 
are  to  understand  that  any  miraculous  event  took  place.  Some 
consider  that  He  so  impressed  His  enemies  by  the  dignity  of  His 
appearance  and  manner,  that  they  had  not  the  courage  to  lay  hold  of 
Him  or  to  stop  Him.  De  Wette  and  Meyer  consider  that  a  miracu- 
lous occurrence  is  intended :  the  former,  with  ancient  writers,  gener- 
ally understanding  the  Evangelist  to  mean,  that  the  inherent  miracu- 
lous power  of  Jesus  paralyzed  His  enemies.  This  is,  on  the  whole, 
the  most  probable  explanation  of  the  narrative.' 

It  may  suffice  to  add  the  very  satisfactory  conclusion  of  Dean 
Plumptre.  '  The  words  do  not  necessarily  involve  a  directly  super- 
natural deliverance,  as  though  the  multitude  had  been  smitten  with 
blindness,  or  our  Lord  had  become  invisible.  We  have  no  right  to 
insert  miracles  in  the  Gospel  records.  Calmness,  silence,  the  moral 
power  of  self-possessed  righteousness,  have  in  themselves  a  power, 
often  proved,  to  baffle  the  fury  of  an  angry  mob.1 


HEALING  AGENCIES  EMPLOYED  IN  MIRACLES.  521 


Healing  Agencies  employed  in  Miracles. 

JOHN  ix.  6  :  'When  He  had  thus  spoken,  He  spat  on  the  ground,  and  made 
clay  of  the  spittle,  and  He  anointed  the  eyes  of  the  blind  man  with  the  clay.' 

Difficulty. — As  our  Lord  could  heal  with  a  word,  and  usually 
did  so,  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  for  His  carefully  using  healing 
agencies  in  this  and  some  other  cases. 

Explanation. — Every  case  illustrates  the  care  with  which  our 
Lord  adapted  His  methods  so  as  to  be  most  effective  in  the  blessing 
of  the  sufferer.  When  the  patient  had  his  ordinary  senses  of  sight 
and  hearing,  they  brought  him  sufficient  information,  and  due  per- 
suasion to  the  belief — or  better,  trust — which  was  the  condition  of 
Christ's  healing.  But  when  hearing  or  sight  were  lost,  our  Lord 
made  up  for  the  deficiency  by  acting  His  persuasion,  so  that  feeling 
might  do  the  work  which  hearing  and  sight  could  do  in  other  cases. 
In  this  direction  lies  an  adequate  explanation  of  our  Lord's  using 
agencies  in  some  cases  and  not  in  others. 

The  case  connected  with  the  above  text  is  one  of  blindness ;  and 
the  remedies  are  such  as  were  usual  for  eye  diseases  at  the  time,  but 
they  were  associated  with  a  requirement — to  wash  at  Siloam — which 
bore  no  known  relation  to  eye  disease,  and  at  once  suggested  a  special 
Divine  power. 

Dr.  Edersheim  says  :  *  If  we  ask  ourselves  why  means  were  used  in 
this  instance,  we  can  only  suggest  that  it  was  partly  for  the  sake  of 
him  who  was  to  be  healed,  and  partly  for  theirs  who  afterwards  heard 
of  it.  For  the  blind  man  seems  to  have  been  ignorant  of  the  character 
of  his  Healer,  and  it  needed  the  use  of  some  means  to  make  him,  so 
to  speak,  receptive.  On  the  other  hand,  not  only  the  use  of  means, 
but  their  inadequacy  to  the  object,  must  have  impressed  all* 

Farrar  contents  himself  with  the  general  remark,  '  We  have  no 
means  of  deciding  in  this,  any  more  than  in  the  parallel  instances, 
why  our  Lord,  who  sometimes  healed  by  a  word,  preferred  at  other 
times  to  adopt  slow  and  more  elaborate  methods  of  giving  effect  to 
His  supernatural  power.  In  this  matter  He  never  revealed  the 
principles  of  action  which  doubtless  arose  from  His  inner  knowledge 
of  the  circumstances,  and  from  His  insight  into  the  hearts  of  those  on 
whom  His  cures  were  wrought.' 

Geikie  sees  a  connection  between  the  employment  of  agencies  in 
this  case,  and  a  testimony  which  Jesus  desired  to  make  respecting 
the  Sabbath.  He  might  have  opened  the  eyes  of  the  poor  man  by  a 
word,  but  a  great  lesson  was  to  be  taught  His  enemies.  He  wished 


522      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

to  protest  once  more  against  the  hypocritical  strictness  of  the  Rabbi- 
nical observance  of  the  Sabbath,  which  so  entirely  destroyed  the  true 
significance  of  the  holy  day.  He  would  show  that  it  was  in  full 
accordance  with  the  office  of  Messiah,  not  only  Himself  to  do  what 
the  dominant  party  denounced  as  work  on  the  Sabbath,  but  to 
require  it  also  from  him  whom  He  cured.' 

Professor  Watkins  (in  Ellicotfs  Commentary]  supports  the  explana- 
tion which  we  suggest  above :  *  Here  it  will  be  enough  to  observe 
that  in  each  case  (of  the  use  of  means)  the  loss  of  a  channel  of  com- 
munication between  the  individual  man  and  the  outer  world  is  com- 
pensated by  some  special  means  which  may  help  to  assure  him  of  the 
presence  of  the  true  Healer,  and  may  furnish  a  foundation  for  his 
faith  and  hope.  The  deaf  man  cannot  hear  the  tones  of  a  voice  that 
tells  of  mercy  and  love,  but  the  touch  applied  to  the  ear  may  in  part 
convey  the  same  gracious  truths.  The  blind  man  cannot  see  the 
look  of  compassion  which  others  can  see ;  but  the  saliva  or  the  clay 
applied  to  the  eye,  gives  force  to  the  word  which  is  heard  by  the 
ear.  In  every  case  we  should  remember  that  the  means  is  chiefly 
moral,  preparing  in  the  sufferer  a  mental  condition  which  can  receive 
the  gift  of  healing,  and  that  the  physical  gift  is  itself  regarded  as  a 
stage  in  the  spiritual  education.' 


Forty  Days'  Fasting. 

MATTHEW  iv.  2  :  '  And  when  He  had  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  he  was 
afterwards  an  hungered.' 

Question. —  Was  this  merely  an  unusual  case  of  Eastern  absti- 
nence,  or  must  we  recognise  direct  miraculous  support  given  to  our 
Lord? 

Answer. — It  is  quite  possible  that  the  number  forty  is  used  in  a 
general  way  for  a  long  time,  and  is  not  intended  to  indicate  precisely 
the  length  of  the  fasting  time.  Numbers,  such  as  'seven'  and  'forty,' 
appear  to  have  been  used  in  a  special  way  by  the  Jews.  The  nar- 
rative of  the  Temptation  is  satisfied  by  our  understanding  that  the 
fasting  continued  a  long  time,  sufficient  to  involve  great  bodily  ex- 
haustion, which,  in  an  ordinary  case,  would  involve  a  weakness  of 
will  to  resist  temptation. 

We  are  not,  however,  anxious  to  press  this  point.  Forty  days' 
fasting  is  almost,  but  not  quite,  a  human  impossibility;  but  it  is 
much  more  of  an  impossibility  under  the  conditions  of  Western  life, 
food,  and  habits,  than  it  is  in  the  more  restful  and  the  simpler  East 


FORTY  DA  KS'  FASTING. 


523 


The  Evangelists  who  record  the  fasting  do  not  suggest  anything 
miraculous  about  it,  nor  do  they  indicate  that  it  needs  either  explana- 
tion or  proof.  It  may,  therefore,  be  understood  that  the  fasting  was 
naturally  sustained — a  highly  strained,  rapt,  and  ecstatic  condition 
of  mind  and  feeling,  making  our  Lord  for  so  long  a  time  indifferent 
to  food.  It  was  a  time  of  profound  and  absorbed  meditation  on  His 
mission,  and  all  it  involved ;  and  our  Lord  was,  as  we  should  say, 
*  carried  away,''  so  as  to  be  wholly  indifferent  to  material  things. 

It  is  significant  that  Matthew  says  nothing  of  special  help  to 
endure  the  fasting,  but  tells  of  angels  ministering  to  Him  at  the 
close  of  the  scene,  and  when  both  the  fasting  and  the  temptation 
were  over  (ver.  n).  Probably  the  ministering  of  the  angels  was  such 
miraculous  provision  for  His  needs  as  was  made  for  the  wearied 
and  despondent  Elijah,  when  he  fled  into  the  deserts  of  Beersheba. 

On  the  number  '  forty '  Farrar  says :  *  The  number  occurs 
again  and  again  in  Scripture,  and  always  in  connection  with  the 
facts  of  temptation  or  retribution.  It  is  clearly  a  sacred  and  repre- 
sentative number,  and  independently  of  other  associations,  it  was  for 
forty  days  that  Moses  had  staid  on  Sinai,  and  Elijah  in  the  wilderness. 
In  moments  of  intense  excitement  and  overwheming  thought,  the 
ordinary  needs  of  the  body  seem  to  be  modified,  or  even  for  a  time 
superseded.' 

Dean  Plumptre  says  that  'prolonged  fasts  of  nearly  the  same 
extent  have  been  recorded  in  later  times.  The  effect  of  such  a  fast 
on  any  human  organism,  and  therefore  on  our  Lord's  real  humanity, 
would  be  to  interrupt  the  ordinary  continuity  of  life,  and  quicken  all 
perceptions  of  the  spiritual  world  into  a  new  intensity.' 

Ohhausen  says  that  'the  number  forty  was  certainly  a  sacred 
number  with  the  Jews ;  but  it  does  not  follow  thence  that  it  is  not  to 
be  taken  exactly ;  but  rather  that  the  idea  entertained  by  the  Jews  of 
the  sacredness  of  certain  numbers  has  itself  a  deeper  foundation, 
which,  taken  as  a  general  proposition,  may  be  thus  expressed: 
"According  to  Divine  arrangement,  which  is  pure  harmony,  every 
development  proceeds  by  definite  measure  and  number."  The  forty 
days  of  the  temptation  form  an  interesting  parallel  with  Israel's 
forty  years'  journey  through  the  wilderness.  All  the  passages  quoted 
in  the  history  of  Christ's  temptation  are  taken  from  the  narrative  of 
that  journey.' 


524     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
Paul's  Conversion. 

ACTS  ix.  3,  4 :  '  And  as  he  journeyed,  it  came  to  pass  that  he  drew  nigh  unto 
Damascus  :  and  suddenly  there  shone  round  about  him  a  light  out  of  heaven  :  and 
he  fell  upon  the  earth,  and  heard  a  voice  saying  unto  him,  Saul,  Saul,  why  perse- 
cutest  thou  Me  ?'  (Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — There  is  a  strange  blending  of  outward  phenon  vna 
and  inward  experiences  in  this  narrative :  and  it  is  difficult  to  recognise 
the  limits  of  each. 

Explanation. — Many  years  ago  we  were  much  impressed  by 
Neander's  account  of  this  incident,  and,  with  the  qualifications 
suggested  in  the  passage  we  give  from  Dean  Plumptre,  it  may  be  re- 
garded as  affording  a  very  satisfactory  account  of  an  internal  vision 
and  revelation  which  was  introduced  by  external  circumstances. 

'  Paul  had  received  many  impressions  which  disturbed  the  repose 
of  his  truth-loving  soul ;  he  had  heard  the  temperate  counsels  of  his 
revered  instructor  Gamaliel ;  he  had  listened  to  the  address  of 
Stephen,  to  whom  he  was  allied  by  natural  temperament,  and  had 
witnessed  his  martyrdom.  But  he  was  still  too  deeply  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  Pharisaism  to  surrender  himself  to  those  impressions,  so 
contrary  to  the  prevailing  bent  of  his  mind.  He  forcibly  repressed 
them ;  he  rejected  the  thoughts  that  involuntarily  rose  in  his  mind  in 
favour  of  the  new  doctrine,  as  the  suggestions  of  Satan,  whom  he  re 
garded  as  the  sole  contriver  of  this  rebellion  against  the  authority  of  the 
ancient  traditions,  and  accordingly  set  himself  with  so  much  the  greater 
ardour  against  the  new  sect  Yet  he  could  not  succeed  altogether  in 
suppressing  these  rising  thoughts,  and  in  silencing  the  voice  of  con- 
science, which  rebuked  his  fanaticism.  A  conflict  arose  in  his  soul. 
While  in  this  state,  an  outward  impression  was  added,  which  brought 
the  internal  process  to  maturity.  Not  far  from  Damascus  he  and  his 
followers  were  overtaken  by  a  violent  storm  ;  the  lightning  struck  Paul, 
and  he  fell  senseless  to  the  ground.  He  attributed  this  catastrophe 
to  the  avenging  power  of  the  Messiah,  whom  in  the  person  of  his 
disciples  he  was  persecuting,  and,  confounding  the  objective  and  sub- 
jective, converted  this  internal  impression  into  an  outward  appearance 
of  Christ  to  him  :  blinded  by  the  lightning,  and  stunned  by  the  fall, 
he  came  to  Damascus/  (It  should  be  understood  that  this  is  not 
Neander's  own  view  of  the  incident,  but  a  possible  view  from  the 
purely  natural  standpoint) 

Dean  Plumptre' s  note  is  as  follows  :  It  is  not  possible  in  such  a 
history  to  draw  a  hard  and  fast  line  between  the  objective  and  the 
subjective.  The  man  himself  cannot  say  whether  he  is  in  the  body, 


PAUL'S  CONVERSION. 


5*5 


or  out  of  the  body  (2  Cor.  xii.  2,  3).  It  is  enough  for  him  that  he 
sees  what  others  do  not  see,  and  hears  what  they  do  not  hear,  while 
they  too  hear  and  see  enough  to  prove  both  to  themselves  and  to 
him  that  something  has  occurred  beyond  the  range  of  ordinary  phe- 
nomena. Nothing  in  the  narrative  suggests  the  thought  of  a  sudden 
thunderstorm,  which  has  seemed  to  some  wiiters  a  probable  explana- 
tion of  the  facts.  In  that  case,  the  gathering  gloom,  the  dark  rolling 
clouds,  would  have  prepared  the  traveller  for  the  lightning-flash.  If 
this  hypothesis  be  at  all  entertained — and  as  it  does  not  necessarily 
exclude  the  supernatural  element,  and  presents  analogies  to  the  Divine 
manifestations  on  Sinai  (Exod.  xix.  16)  and  Horeb  (i  Kings  xix.  n, 
12)  it  may  be  entertained  legitimately — we  must  think  of  the  storm,  if 
we  take  such  a  view,  as  coming  with  an  almost  instantaneous  quick- 
ness, the  first  flash  and  crash  striking  all  with  terror,  while  the  full 
revelation  of  the  Christ  was  made  to  the  consciousness  and  conscience 
of  the  future  Apostle.' 

Conybeare  and  Howson  remark  on  the  external  and  internal  features 
of  the  narrative.  *  All  fell  to  the  ground  in  terror  (xxvi.  14),  or  stood 
dumb  with  amazement  (ix.  7).  Suddenly  surrounded  by  a  light  so 
terrible  and  incomprehensible,  "  they  were  afraid."  "  They  heard  not 
the  voice  of  Him  that  spake  to  Paul "  (xxii.  9),  or,  if  they  heard  a 
voice,  "  they  saw  no  man."  (ix.  7).  The  whole  scene  was  evidently 
one  of  the  utmost  confusion  :  and  the  accounts  are  such  as  to  express, 
in  the  most  striking  manner,  the  bewilderment  and  alarm  of  the 
travellers.  But  while  the  others  were  stunned,  stupefied  and  confused, 
a  clear  light  broke  in  terribly  on  the  soul  of  one  of  those  who  were 
prostrated  on  the  ground.' 

The  Withered  Fig-Tree. 

MARK  xi.  20  :  *  And  as  they  passed  by  in  the  morning,  they  saw  the  fig-tree 
withered  away  from  the  roots.' 

Question. —  Was  this  a  sudden  consummation  of  disease  in  tJie 
tree^  or  the  direct  result  of  our  Lord's  curse,  without  any  previous  evil  in 
tfo  tree  ? 

Answer. — We  have  elsewhere  dealt  with  this  incident  in  its 
moral  aspects,  and  need  only  refer  here  to  the  form  which  the 
miraculous  judgment  of  the  tree  took.  It  may  be  well,  however,  to 
recall  to  mind  that  our  Lord  used  the  tree  as  a  medium  for 
symbolical  or  picture  teaching ;  we  may  therefore  seek  to  discover 
the  points  which  would  make  such  picture-teaching  more  effective. 
As  He  was  illustrating  the  condition  and  doom  of  a  hypocritical 


526      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

nation,  it  is  more  reasonable  to  assume  that  there  was  decay  in  the 
tree,  some  deficiency  of  vitality  which  led  to  its  bringing  forth  leaves 
only.  Then  this  may  be  treated  as  a  time-miracle — one  in  which  the 
natural  process  of  judgment  is  simply  hastened,  that,  so,  conviction 
of  evil  and  Divine  judgment  of  evil  may  be  seen  close  together,  and 
due  impressions  produced  by  the  sight.  It  was  a  corrupt  tree.  In 
the  ordinary  course  of  things  it  would,  after  a  time,  have  withered. 
Its  condition  was  found  out  by  the  all-searching  One ;  and  its  doom 
was  pronounced  and  executed  as  a  solemn  warning  to  our  Lord's 
disciples.  On  any  other  assumption  than  that  of  the  rottenness  of 
the  tree,  there  can  be  no  point  #1  treating  it  as  an  illustration  of 
Divine  judgment  on  the  hypocritical.  Judgment  on  the  innocent, 
and  healthy,  and  right-doing,  Jesus  could  not  have  spoken. 

Farrar  states  the  case  of  the  tree  very  clearly  :  « The  sap  was 
circulating,  the  leaves  made  a  fair  show  ;  but  of  fruit  there  was  none. 
Fit  emblem  of  a  hypocrite,  whose  external  semblance  is  a  delusion  and 
sham — fit  emblem  of  the  nation  in  whom  the  ostentatious  profession 
of  religion  brought  forth  no  "  fruit  of  good  living " — the  tree  was 
barren.  And  it  was  hopelessly  barren ;  for  had  it  been  fruitful  the 
previous  year,  there  would  still  have  been  some  of  the  kermouses  (violet- 
coloured  autumn  figs)  hidden  under  those  broad  leaves ;  and  had  it 
been  fruitful  this  year,  the  bakkooroth  (first-ripe  figs)  would  have  set  into 
green  and  delicious  fragrance  before  the  leaves  appeared  ;  but  on  this 
fruitless  tree  there  was  neither  any  promise  for  the  future,  nor  any 
gleanings  from  the  past.  And  therefore,  since  it  was  but  deceptive 
and  useless,  a  barren  cumberer  of  the  ground,  He  made  it  the 
eternal  warning  against  a  life  of  hypocrisy  continued  until  it  is  too 
late,  and,  in  the  hearing  of  His  disciples,  uttered  upon  it  the  solemn 
fiat,  "  Never  fruit  grow  upon  thee  more  !"  Even  at  the  word,  such 
infructuous  life  as  it  possessed  was  arrested,  and  it  began  to  wither.' 

Edersheim's  note  is  suggestive :  '  It  was  evidently  a  barren  fig-tree, 
cumbering  the  ground,  and  to  be  hewn  down.  Our  mind  almost 
instinctively  reverts  to  the  Parable  of  the  Barren  Fig-tree,  which  he 
had  so  lately  spoken  (Luke  xiii,  6-9).  To  Him  who  but  yesterday 
had  wept  over  the  Jerusalem  that  knew  not  the  day  of  its  visitation, 
and  over  which  the  sharp  axe  of  judgment  was  already  lifted,  this 
fig-tree,  with  its  luxuriant  mantle  of  leaves,  must  have  recalled,  with 
pictorial  vividness,  the  scene  of  the  previous  day.  Israel  was  that 
barren  fig-tree ;  and  the  leaves  only  covered  their  nakedness,  as  erst 
they  had  that  of  our  first  parents  after  their  fall.  And  the  judgment, 
symbolically  spoken  in  the  parable,  must  be  symbolically  executed  in 
this  leafy  fig-tree,  barren  when  searched  for  fruit  by  the  Master.' 


THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  -  527 


The  Transfiguration. 

MATTHEW  xvii.  2  :  '  And  He  was  transfigured  before  them  :  and  His  face  did 
shine  as  the  sun,  and  His  garments  became  white  as  the  light.' 

Question. — Is  this  incident  to  be  classed  among  '  visions?  or  are  we 
to  understand  that  some  miraculous  change  was  wrought  on  Christ,  and 
some  supernatural  conditions  were  arranged  for  Him  1 

Answer. — The  view  taken  of  the  scene  of  the  Transfiguration 
directly  depends  on  the  view  taken  of  the  person  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
If  He  was  the  Son  of  God,  '  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,'  it  can  in 
no  way  surprise  us  that,  on  occasion,  He  should  have  direct  access 
to  the  spiritual,  the  heavenly  world.  There  are  two  other  scenes  in 
our  Lord's  life  with  which  the  Transfiguration  should  be  compared. 
The  one  is  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  Him,  under  the  symbol 
of  a  brooding  dove,  after  His  baptism.  The  other  is  the  sound  as 
of  thunder,  and  the  responding  voice  of  the  Father,  saying  of  His 
Father-name,  *I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it  again.' 
And  it  should  be  noticed  that  the  first  direct  manifestation  of  God  to 
Christ — at  His  baptism — occurred  as  the  beginning  of  His  active 
mission  as  a  teacher.  The  second — at  the  Transfiguration — 
occurred  as  a  starting  of  Christ  on  the  suffering  side  of  His  mission. 
And  the  third — the  thunder-voice — as  a  precise  assurance  and  en- 
couragment  when  our  Lord  was  entering  upon  His  Passion. 

It  is  significant  that  each  case  of  special  manifestation  bore  direct 
relation  to  the  mental  condition  of  our  Lord  Himself.  We  dwell  so 
constantly  on  the  vicarious  character  of  our  Lord's  whole  life,  and 
words,  and  works,  that  perhaps  we  do  not  sufficiently  sympathize  with 
Him,  or  realize  what  support  He  needed — spiritual  support — in 
carrying  out  His  life-mission.  Only  when  we  can  appreciate  the 
limitations  of  the  human  condition,  to  which  the  Divine  Christ 
voluntarily  submitted  Himself,  can  we  understand  what  spiritual 
helps  He  needed.  If  St.  Paul  needed  the  support  of  occasional 
visions  in  His  arduous  life,  how  much  more  were  such  direct  Divine 
communications  needed  by  the  Son  of  God,  while  pressed  into  the 
limitations  and  humiliations  of  a  human  life. 

Neander  has  the  following  fine  and  suggestive  note :  '  It  termed 
part  of  the  trial  and  self-denial  Ot  Christ  through  His  whole  life,  that, 
together  with  the  consciousness  that  He  was  the  Son  of  God,  He 
combined  the  weakness  and  dependence  of  humanity.  These 
affected  the  lesser  powers  ot  His  soul,  although  they  could  never 


528      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES, 

move  His  unchangingly  holy  will,  and  turn  Him  to  any  selfish 
strivings.' 

We  should  call  the  Transfiguration  a  vision  if  it  was  a  scene 
related  to  a  human  being.  In  the  case  of  our  Lord  it  is  more  than  a 
vision,  it  is  other  than  a  vision.  It  is  the  temporary  freedom  of  the 
Son  of  God  from  His  body  limitations :  a  temporary  resumption  of 
heavenly  conditions  in  a  heavenly  sphere  :  a  freedom  from  the  human 
for  the  sake  of  a  time  of  Divine  and  spiritual  communion.  We  think 
it  an  incomprehensible  scene,  save  for  those  who  can  see  God  in 
Man,  in  the  Man  Christ  Jesus.  The  attendant  disciples  gained  no 
more  than  a  general  impression  of  a  surpassing  glory.  The  scene  was 
real  only  to  Christ,  and  bore  direct  relation  to  His  own  spiritual 
necessities.  It  lay  in  that  region  of  the  supernatural  which  was  the 
proper,  the  eternal,  sphere  of  the  Son  of  God.  To  Him  it  was  not 
vision,  because  to  Him  the  spiritual  was  the  real.  To  the  watching 
disciples  all  was  vision,  because  spiritual  things  and  spiritual  persons 
must  get  sensible  appearances  to  adapt  them  to  the  apprehension  of 
mortal  senses.  Rightly  understood,  the  Transfiguration  sheds  the 
clearest  light  on  the  Divine  nature  of  Christ. 

Rapture,  in  prolonged  times  of  prayer,  is  the  human  experi- 
ence which  alone  can  be  suggested  as  bearing  any  likeness  to  this 
Transfiguration  of  Christ ;  and  we  can  but  feel  how  far  short  the 
most  ecstatic  human  raptures  must  ever  come.  The  experience  of 
our  Lord  is  unique.  It  stands  alone  because  He  stands  alone.  '  The 
Transfiguration,  with  its  attendant  glorified  Ministry  and  Voice  from 
heaven,  was  God's  answer  to  Christ's  prayer.'  *  If  Jesus  was  the  very 
Christ  of  God,  then  this  event  can  scarcely  be  described  as  miracu- 
lous— at  least  in  such  a  history.  If  we  would  not  expect  it,  it  is 
certainly  that  which  might  have  been  expected.'  —  Edersheim. 

Miracles  that  seem  to  be  Mere  Wonders. 

MARK  vi.  48-50 :  '  And  seeing  them  distressed  in  rowing,  for  the  wind  was 
contrary  to  them,  about  the  fourth  watch  of  the  night  He  cometh  unto  them, 
walking  on  the  sea :  and  He  would  have  passed  by  them  :  but  they,  when  they 
saw  Him  walking  on  the  sea,  supposed  that  it  was  an  apparition,  and  cried  out ; 
for  they  all  saw  Him,  and  were  troubled  '  (Rev.  Ver.}. 

Difliculty. — Our  Lord  is  supposed  to  have  only  wrought  miracles 
in  service  to  others,  and  as  a  part  of  His  mission  ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to 
see  at  y  benefit  bestowed,  or  any  trouble  removed,  by  this  walking  on  the 
sea. 

Explanation. — Trench  tells  us  that  the  name  'wonders'  is 
never  applied  to  the  miracles  except  in  connection  with  some  other 


MIRACLES  THAT  SEEM  TO  BE  MERE  WONDERS.  529 

name.  They  are  continually  *  signs  and  wonders ;'  or  '  signs  '  alone  ; 
or  *  powers '  alone ;  but  never  '  wonders '  alone.  Miracles  are 
always  signs  and  pledges  of  something  more  than  and  beyond  them- 
selves. 

It  is  true  that  it  was,  from  the  first,  an  absolute  law  with  Christ, 
that  He  might  not,  and  He  would  not,  use  the  miraculous  powers 
with  which  He  was  entrusted  for  His  own  private  purposes,  His  own 
defence,  or  His  own  supply.  And  yet  exactly  this  He  appears  on 
several  occasions  to  have  done.  He  stilled  the  waves  that  involved 
His  own  peril.  He  sought  in  a  miraculous  way  the  money  needed 
to  pay  the  Temple  tax.  He  '  walked  the  waves  in  wondrous  guise.' 
He  cursed  the  fig-tree  that  deceived  Him.  In  each  case,  no  physical 
good  to  others  answered  to  the  putting  forth  of  His  power.  But,  in 
each  case,  moral  good  did ;  educational  good  for  the  disciples,  and 
for  us  through  them.  And  if  we  rightly  estimated  the  relative  values 
of  the  physical  and  the  moral,  we  should  think  those  miracles,  that 
look  at  first  like  mere  wonder-working,  were  more  strictly  within  His 
rule  than  the  others.  They  were  even  more  truly  done  *  not  unto 
self.' 

In  the  case  of  walking  on  the  sea,  the  immediate  connection  of  the 
miracle  with  the  consequences  of  the  miracle  of  feeding  the  thousands 
must  be  noticed.  The  people,  excited  by  that  display  of  Divine 
power,  were  about  by  force  to  "  make  Him  a  King,"  and  the  Apostles 
were  disposed  to  favour  the  idea  of  the  people.  It  was  a  moment  for 
prompt  and  decisive  action.  So  our  Lord  dismissed  the  people,  sent 
away  the  disciples,  and  retired  into  the  mountain. 

But  it  was  most  important  to  correct  the  carnal  notions  of  Him 
which  the  disciples  evidently  cherished,  and  to  make  them  feel  that 
He  was  a  spiritual  Lord  and  King.  And  His  walking  on  the  water 
was  His  gracious  effort  to  awaken  thought  about  Himself  in  their 
minds,  and  to  lead  them  to  worthier  apprehensions  of  His  mystery. 
The  act  had  in  view  the  spiritual  training  of  those  disciples.  '  This 
manifestation  of  Christ's  hidden  glory  was  designed  to  build  up  His 
disciples  in  the  faith.  They  saw  more  and  more  clearly  with  whom 
they  had  to  do,  and  perceived  that  He  was  the  revelation  of  the 
invisible  Father,  who  alone  spreadeth  out  the  heavens,  and  treadeth 
upon  the  waves  of  the  sea/ 


34 


530      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Opened  Graves  at  the  Crucifixion. 

MATTHEW  xxvii.  52,  53  :  'And  the  tombs  were  opened  ;  and  many  bodies  of 
the  saints  that  had  fallen  asleep  were  raised  ;  and  coming  forth  out  of  the  tombs 
after  His  resurrection  they  entered  into  the  holy  city,  and  appeared  unto  many ' 
(Rev.  Ver.}. 

Difficulty. — The  statements  here  made  are  so  singular,  so  vague, 
and  so  unsupported,  that  we  seem  to  be  reading  a  legend  of  the  time 
rather  than  historical  fact. 

Explanation. — The  passage  is  preserved  in  the  Revised  Version, 
so  we  may  assume  that  there  is  sufficient  justification  of  it  in  the 
original  manuscripts  ;  but  it  stands  alone ;  Mark  and  Luke  limit 
themselves  to  recording  the  rending  of  the  vail,  John  refers  to  none 
of  the  portents. 

The  passage  has  always  been  a  serious  stumbling-block,  and,  with  a 
sort  of  tacit  consent,  Christian  people  pass  it  over,  as  a  strange  record 
that,  in  some  unknown  way,  has  gained  a  place  in  the  text.  No 
names  are  given  of  those  who  appeared,  or  of  those  to  whom  they 
appeared.  What  saints  can  be  meant  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  guess. 
The  bodies  are  said  to  be  raised,  but  it  does  not  appear  whether  this 
is  equivalent  to  saying  that  the  dead  were  restored  to  life.  These 
raised  bodies  are  said  to  have  *  appeared,'  which  is  a  term  suitable 
for  a  temporary  vision,  rather  than  for  an  actually  restored  fellowship. 
We  never  hear  afterwards  anything  concerning  these  raised  bodies. 
And,  strangest  of  all,  the  bodies  were  raised  on  the  evening  of  the 
crucifixion,  and  they  only  appeared  to  people  in  the  holy  city  after 
the  resurrection. 

The  complications  are  so  great  that  it  is  quite  impossible  for  us  to 
receive  these  verses  as  a  part  of  Matthew's  Gospel ;  and  it  is  better 
to  say  at  once  that  they  are  so  completely  out  of  harmony  with  the 
Gospel,  that  they  must  be  an  interpolation  :  they  suit  such  books  of 
mere  wonders  as  the  Apocryphal  gospels,  they  have  no  proper 
place  in  the  genuine  Gospels,  which  contain  no  records  of  unnecessary 
and  useless  miracles.  Man  invents  such  stories  as  this  ;  those  which 
God  inspires  have  never  the  characteristic  features  of  this. 

It  is  singular  to  find  Christian  writers  slipping  over  these  verses, 
leaving  them,  as  if  explanation  of  them  were  hopeless.  Neander,  Dr. 
Geikie,  and  the  writer  in  the  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  give  no 
notes.  The  Speakers  Commentary  does  not  attempt  to  relieve  the 
difficulties.  Alford  accepts  the  passage  as  genuine,  and  finds  suffi- 
cient justification  for  it  in  the  symbolical  teaching  it  contains.  Those 


OPENED  GRAVES  AT  THE  CRUCIFIXION.      531 

-who  think  the  original  Gospel  of  Matthew  was  written  in  Hebrew, 
give  the  Greek  editor  the  credit  of  having  added  these  verses.  Some 
of  the  ancient  fathers  understood  the  Holy  City  to  mean  the 
'  heavenly  Jerusalem,'  which  shows  plainly  how  the  difficulties  of  the 
passage  have  always  perplexed  Christian  hearts. 

Farrar  says  :  '  An  earthquake  shook  the  earth  and  split  the  rocks, 
and  as  it  rolled  away  from  their  places  the  great  stones  which  closed 
and  covered  the  cavern  sepulchres  of  the  Jews,  so  it  seemed  to  the 
imaginations  of  many  to  have  disimprisoned  the  spirits  of  the  dead, 
and  to  have  filled  the  air  with  ghostly  visitants,  who  after  Christ  had 
risen  appeared  to  linger  in  the  Holy  City.  Only  in  some  such  way 
as  this  can  I  account  for  the  singular  and  wholly  isolated  allusion  of 
Matthew.' 

Dean  Plumptre  looks  at  the  narrative  in  the  light  of  his  views 
respecting  our  Lord's  descent  into  Hades,  but  no  one  more  skilfully 
presents  the  difficulties  of  the  passage,  or  more  considerately  suggests 
the  views  which  reverent  Bible  readers  may  take,  in  the  hope  of 
relieving  the  difficulties.  He  says  :  *  It  is  scarcely,  perhaps,  surprising 
that  a  narrative  so  exceptional  in  its  marvellousness,  and  standing,  as 
it  does,  without  any  collateral  testimony  in  any  other  part  of  the 
New  Testament,  should  have  presented  to  many  minds  difficulties 
which  have  seemed  almost  insuperable.  They  have,  accordingly, 
•either  viewed  it  as  a  mythical  addition,  or,  where  they  shrank  from 
that  extreme  conclusion,  have  explained  it  as  meaning  simply  that 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  exposed  to  view  by  the  earthquake  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  verse,  or  have  seen  in  it  only  the  honest 
report  of  an  over-excited  imagination.' 

In  view  of  all  that  can  be  urged  in  favour  of,  and  helpful  to,  an  ex- 
planation of  the  passage,  we  deeply  feel  that  it  is  everyway  wiser,  safer, 
and  more  honouring  to  God's  Word,  to  think  that  it  is  a  stranger,  and 
has  no  business  there.  It  is  somebody's  later  addition  which  has 
crept  into  the  text.  Matthew  Henry  ends  his  notes  on  the  passage 
with  this  striking  sentence  :  *  The  relating  of  this  matter  so  briefly  is 
a  plain  intimation  to  us  that  we  must  not  look  that  way  for  \ 
confirmation  of  our  faith  ;  we  have  a  more  sure  word  of  prophecy.1 


532      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


Healings  by  Handkerchiefs  and  Aprons. 

ACTS  xix.  II,  12  ;  'And  God  wrought  special  miracles  by  the  hands  of  Paul : 
insomuch  that  unto  the  sick  were  carried  away  from  his  body  handkei chiefs  or 
aprons,  and  the  diseases  departed  from  them,  and  the  evil  spirits  went  out ' 
(Rev.  Ver.). 

Difficulty. — If  we  accept  the  fact  of  such  miracles  as  wrought  by 
Paul,  it  would  seem  only  reasonable  to  accept  the  record  of  miracles  by 
similar  agencies  in  later  and  medieval  times. 

Explanation. — It  is  probably  necessary  for  us  very  carefully  to 
distinguish  between  the  putting  forth  of  the  Apostle's  power  to  heal, 
and  the  sentiments  entertained  about  that  power  by  a  very  excitable 
people.  An  amount  of  public  enthusiasm  and  excitement  was  raised 
by  Paul's  use  of  his  gifts,  and  men  were  carried  away  to  imagine  a 
good  deal  that  did  not  happen  by  Paul's  direct  agency. 

Thomson,  in  the  Land  and  Book,  helps  us  to  understand  the  form 
which  such  excitements  usually  take  in  the  East :  *  The  external 
instruments  connected  with  working  miracles  had,  in  ancient  times, 
transferred  to  them,  in  imagination,  a  portion  of  the  sanctity  and 
reverence  due  to  him  who  used  them,  or  to  that  Divine  power  which 
was  transmitted  through  them.  This  applied  not  only  to  the  staves  * 
robes,  and  mantles  of  prophets  while  living,  but  to  the  same  things, 
to  their  bones  also,  and  even  to  their  very  gravestones,  when  dead. 
The  same  thing  exists  to  this  day,  and  even  in  an  exaggerated  form. 
It  is  now  very  common  to  bind  on,  or  wrap  round  the  sick,  some 
part  of  the  robes  of  reputed  saints,  in  the  belief  that  healing  virtue 
will  be  communicated  from  it.  The  same  faith,  or  rather  feeling,  led 
the  people  to  bring  out  their  sick  into  the  streets,  that  even  the  shadovr 
of  Peter  might  overshadow  some  of  them '  (Acts  v.  15). 

Probably  the  reason  for  allowing  such  a  great  and  unusual  effusion. 
of  the  healing  power  in  this  case  of  Paul's,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
necessity  for  providing  some  counterpoise  to  the  magical  and 
theurgic  practices  to  which  the  Ephesians  were  devoted ;  the  true 
must  be  set  in  forcible  contrast  with  the  false,  even  in  the  lines  of 
action  which  were  commonly  taken  by  the  false. 

Nothing  wiser  on  this  subject  can  be  found  than  the  following  note 
by  Dean  Plumptre :  *  The  picture  suggested  is  that  of  devout  persons 
coming  to  the  Apostle  as  he  laboured  at  his  craft,  and  carrying  away 
with  them  the  very  handkerchiefs  and  aprons  that  he  had  used,  as. 
precious  relics,  that  conveyed  the  supernatural  gift  of  healing  which 

he  exercised The  two  conditions  of  the  supernatural  work 

of  healing  were  a  Divine  Power  on  the  one  hand,  and  Faith  on  the 


HEALINGS  BY  HANDKERCHIEFS  AND  APRONS   533 

other,  and  any  external  medium  might  serve  to  strengthen  the  latter 
and  bring  it  into  contact  with  the  former.  Cures,  more  or  less 
analogous,  ascribed  to  the  relics  of  saints  admit,  in  some  measure,  of 
a  like  explanation.  Without  pretending  to  draw  a  sharp  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  natural  and  supernatural,  it  is  clear  that  a 
strong  belief  in  the  possibility  of  a  healing  work  as  likely  or  certain  to 
be  accompanied  by  any  special  agents,  does  much  to  stimulate  the 
activity  of  the  vis  medicatrix  natura  which  before  was  passive  and 
inert  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  see  in  the  works  of  healing  so 
wrought  a  special  adaptation  to  the  antecedent  habits  of  mind  of  a 
population  like  that  of  Ephesus.  It  was  something  for  them  to  learn 
that  the  prayer  of  faith  and  the  handkerchief  that  had  touched  the 
Apostle's  skin  had  a  greater  power  to  heal  than  the  charms  in  which 
they  had  previously  trusted.' 

Conybeare  and  Howson  say:  'We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the 
Apostles  were  always  able  to  work  miracles  at  will.  An  influx  of 
supernatural  power  was  given  to  them  at  the  time  and  according  to 
the  circumstances  that  required  it.  And  the  character  of  the  miracles 
was  not  always  the  same.  They  were  accommodated  to  the  peculiar 
forms  of  sin,  superstition,  and  ignorance  they  were  required  to 
oppose.  Here  at  Ephesus  St.  Paul  was  in  the  face  of  magicians,  like 
Moses  and  Aaron  before  Pharaoh ;  and  it  is  distinctly  said  that  his 
miracles  were  "  not  ordinary  wonders " ;  from  which  we  may  infer 
that  they  were  different  from  those  which  he  usually  performed.' 

Our  Lord's  Resurrection  Body. 

LUKE  xxiv.  31  :  'And  their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knew  Him  ;  and  He 
vanished  out  of  their  sight '  (Marg.:  '  ceased  to  be  seen  of  them  '). 

Question. — Can  our  Lord's  body  after  the  resurrection  be  the  same 
as  He  had  before  His  death;  for  it  was  evidently  not  subject  to  ordinary 
conditions  and  limitations  ? 

Answer. — At  first  our  attention  may  be  absorbed  with  the 
evidences  of  identity  between  the  human  body  and  the  resurrection 
body  of  Christ.  Much  is  made  of  our  Lord's  appeal  to  Thomas  to 
test  the  reality  of  His  bodily  presence  by  touching  the  body-marks  of 
nails  and  spear.  And  yet  the  more  the  narrative  of  the  forty  days  in 
the  resurrection  body  is  meditated  on,  the  more  impressively  we  are 
convinced  that  our  Lord's  body  was  other  than  it  had  been.  He 
came  forth  from  the  tomb,  leaving  His  grave-clothes  behind,  and  yet 
Mary  saw  Him  in  the  garden  clothed.  He  forbade  Mary  to  touch 
Him,  on  the  ground  that  He  was  in  a  state  just  ready  for  His  ascen- 
sion, and  fitted  for  the  heavenly  rather  than  the  earthly  spheres.  He 


534      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

came  in  when  doors  were  shut.  He  vanished  out  of  sight.  Nobody 
ever  knew  where  He  dwelt.  He  went  to  Galilee,  but  no  one  accom- 
panied Him.  The  recognition  of  His  disciples  was  on  no  occasion  im- 
mediate. At  last,  He  simply  went  up  out  of  sight — without  any  further 
change.  We  are  now  getting  to  understand  better  that  our  Lord's 
resurrection  was  no  mere  resumption  of  life  such  as  Lazarus  ex- 
perienced. Our  Lord  rose,  as  the  dead  are  to  rise  at  last,  to  a 
spiritual  body,  made  sensible  to  human  apprehension  for  a  time,  but 
really  fitted  for  spiritual  and  eternal  spheres.  There  was  a  natural 
body,  and  there  was  a  spiritual  body ;  and  they  were  the  same  body. 
The  one  thing  which  the  resurrection  is  to  persuade  us  of  is  the 
continued  life  of  Christ.  It  is  in  no  way  necessary  to  such  a  per- 
suasion that  our  Lord  should  resume  all  the  conditions  of  His  old 
bodily  life.  He  lives.  Death,  the  mightiest  energy  of  sin,  could  not, 
did  not,  hold  Him. 

Pressense  states  this  distinction  :  '  The  glorification  of  Jesus  com- 
menced from  the  day  when  He  rose  from  the  grave.  His  body  was 
no  phantom,  it  retained  its  reality,  since  it  could  be  handled  and 
felt,  could  eat  and  drink ;  but  it  was,  nevertheless,  invested  with  new 
properties,  which  distinguished  it  from  its  former  condition.  Jesus 
was  not  at  once  recognised  by  His  disciples ;  He  seemed  able  to 
transport  Himself  with  strange  rapidity  from  place  to  place.  In  the 
Ascension  He  resumed  all  the  glory  which  belonged  to  Him,  and 
in  that  glory  those  Divine  attributes,  by  virtue  of  which  He  governs 
His  Church,  and  gives  Himself,  by  His  Spirit,  to  be  the  life  of  each 
believing  soul.' 

Stalker  says  :  *  Christ  rose  from  the  dead  in  a  transfigured  body.' 
Farrar  says :  '  There  was  something  spiritual,  something  not  of 
earth,  in  that  risen  and  glorified  body.' 

Ewald  says  :  The  disciples  '  saw  Him,  not  as  a  common  man,  or 
as  a  shade  or  ghost  risen  from  the  grave  ;  but  as  the  one  only  Son  of 
God — already  more  than  man  at  once  in  nature  and  power;  and  that 
all  who  thus  beheld  Him,  recognised  at  once  and  instinctively  His 
unique  Divine  dignity,  and  firmly  believed  in  it  thenceforth.  .  .  .  . 
That  former  familiar  appearance  of  the  earthly  Christ,  and  this  higher 
vision  of  Him,  with  its  depth  of  emotion  and  ecstatic  joy,  were  so 
mter-related  that  even  in  the  first  days  or  weeks  after  His  death,  they 
could  never  have  seen  in  Him  the  Heavenly  Messiah,  if  they  had  not 
first  known  Him  so  well  as  the  earthly.' 

Edersheim  says  :  '  The  Christ  must  have  Dome  in  His  glorified 
body  all  that  He  was,  all  that  even  His  most  intimate  disciples  had 
not  known  nor  understood  while  He  was  with  them.' 


THE  MAGI  AN  STAR.  535 

The  Magian  Star. 

MATTHEW  ii.  9 :  And  lo,  the  star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east,  went  before 
them,  till  it  came  and  stood  over  where  the  young  child  was.' 

Question. —  Will  any  astronomical  phenomenon  sufficiently  explain 
the  appearance  of  this  star,  or  must  it  be  regarded  as  a  miraculous 
direction  of  the  Magi? 

Answer. — It  would  be  quite  in  harmony  with  the  Divine  method, 
if  we  assume,  that  the  thoughts  of  the  wise  men  were  divinely  guided, 
in  the  line  of  their  usual  observations  and  studies.  It  is  quite 
possible  that  they  observed  either  a  new  star,  or  a  singular  con- 
junction of  stars,  in  a  quarter  of  the  heavens  which  indicated  the 
birth  of  a  Treat  sovereign  somewhere  in  the  countries  westward.  But 
it  is  impossible  for  us  to  go  beyond  suggestions  and  conjectures  as  to 
the  appearances  which  they  observed.  We  need  not  assert  a  miracle 
until  all  reasonable  natural  explanations  have  been  patiently  con- 
sidered and  judiciously  estimated. 

Pressense  deals  with  the  incident  wisely  and  yet  liberally:  *  The 
sidereal  appearance  which  led  to  the  journey  of  the  Magi  was  nc 
miracle,  else  it  would  have  aroused  a  universal  astonishment,  ot 
which  some  trace  would  have  been  preserved  by  the  historians  of  the 
time.  Persian  savans  have  confirmed  it  by  their  observations. 
There  is,  therefore,  no  reason  for  supposing  the  phenomenon  to  be 
other  than  the  conjunction  which,  according  to  Kepler,  took  place 
about  this  period.  The  Magi  bent  their  steps  toward  Judaea,  pro- 
bably from  a  previous  acquaintance  with  Jewish  prophecies,  or  from 
a  distant  echo  which  had  reached  them,  to  the  effect  that  Messiah 
was  to  be  born  in  that  country.  Arrived  at  Jerusalem,  they  are  com- 
pelled to  inquire  where  is  the  town  in  which  he  is  expected.  The 
reappearance  of  the  star  over  Bethlehem  confirms  the  exact  indica- 
tions given  them.  Now,  a  star  could  not  stand  over  a  house ;  its 
shining  could  not  be  thus  concentrated  on  one  point.  But  it  is  quite 
possible  that,  after  being  for  a  time  hidden,  it  might  reappear  at  the 
very  moment  in  which  a  fixed  spot  is  reached.  The  Gospel  narra- 
tive uses  popular  language,  as  when  it  speaks  of  the  rising  and 
setting  of  the  sun,  and  makes  no  pretence  to  scientific  exactness  in 
the  description  of  natural  appearances.  Thus  the  Magi  were  led 
into  Judaea  primarily  by  their  holy  aspirations.' 

Neander  says :  'It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  an  actual 
miracle  was  wrought  in  this  case ;  the  course  of  natural  events  under 
Divine  guidance  was  made  to  lead  to  Christ,  just  as  the  general 


536      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

moral  culture  of  the  heathen,  though  under  natural  forms,  was  made 
to  lead  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Saviour.' 

Probably  the  best  information  at  command  on  this  subject  is  that 
given  by  Dr.  Edersheim,  in  his  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah. 
It  is  necessary  to  give  his  passage  almost  in  full : 

*  There  is  one  illustrative  Jewish  statement  which,  though  not  astro- 
logical, is  of  the  greatest  importance,  although  it  seems  to  have  been 
hitherto  overlooked.  Since  the  appearance  of  Munters  well-known 
tractate  on  the  Star  of  the  Magi,  writers  have  endeavoured  to  show 
that  Jewish  expectancy  of  a  Messiah  was  connected  with  a  peculiar 
sidereal  conjunction,  such  as  that  which  occurred  two  years  before  the 
birth  of  our  Lord,  and  this  on  the  ground  of  a  quotation  from  the 
well-known  Jewish  commentator  Abarbanel  (or  rather  Abrabanel). 
In  his  commentary  on  Daniel,  that  Rabbi  laid  it  down,  that  the  con- 
junction of  Jupiter  and  Saturn  in  the  constellation  Pisces  betokened 
not  only  the  most  important  events,  but  referred  especially  to  Israel 
(for  which  he  gives  five  mystic  reasons).  He  further  argues  that,  as 
that  conjunction  had  taken  place  three  years  before  the  birth  of 
Moses,  which  heralded  the  first  deliverance  of  Israel,  so  it  would  also 
precede  the  birth  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  final  deliverance  of  Israel. 
But  the  argument  fails,  not  only  because  Abarbanel's  calculations  are 
inconclusive  and  even  erroneous,  but  because  it  is  manifestly  unfair  to 
infer  the  state  of  Jewish  belief  at  the  time  of  Christ  from  a  haphazard 
astrological  conceit  of  a  Rabbi  of  the  fifteenth  century.  There  is, 
however,  testimony  which  seems  to  us  not  only  reliable,  but  em- 
bodies most  ancient  Jewish  tradition.  It  is  contained  in  one  of  the 
smaller  Midrashim,  of  which  a  collection  has  lately  been  published. 
On  account  of  its  importance,  one  quotation  at  least  from  it  should 
be  made  in  full.  The  so-called  Messiah-Haggadah  (Aggadoth 
Meshiach)  opens  as  follows  ;  "  A  star  shall  come  out  of  Jacob.  There 
is  a  Boraita  in  the  name  of  the  Rabbis :  The  heptad  in  which  the  Son 
of  David  cometh — in  the  first  year,  there  will  not  be  sufficient 
nourishment ;  in  the  second  year  the  arrows  of  famine  are  launched  ; 
in  the  third,  a  great  famine;  in  the  fourth,  neither  famine  nor 
plenty;  in  the  fifth,  great  abundance,  and  the  star  shall  shine  forth 
from  the  east,  and  this  is  the  star  of  the  Messiah.  And  it  will  shine 
from  the  east  for  fifteen  days,  and  if  it  be  prolonged,  it  will  be  for 
the  good  of  Israel ;  in  the  sixth,  sayings  (voices)  and  announcements 
(hearings) ;  in  the  seventh,  wails,  and  at  the  close  of  the  seventh  the 
Messiah  is  to  be  expected."  A  similar  statement  occurs  at  the  close 
of  a  collection  of  three  Midrashim — respectively  entitled,  The  Book 
of  Elijah,  Chapters  about  the  Messiah,  and  The  Mysteries  of  R. 


THE  MAGIAN  STAR.  537 

Simon,  the  son  ofjochai— where  we  read  that  a  star  in  the  east  was  to 
appear  two  years  before  the  birth  of  the  Messiah.  The  statement  is 
almost  equally  remarkable,  whether  it  represents  a  tradition  previous 
to  the  birth  of  Jesus,  or  originated  after  that  event.  But  two  years 
before  the  birth  of  Christ,  which,  as  we  have  calculated,  took  place 
in  December,  749  A.U.C.,  or  five  before  the  Christian  era,  brings  us 
to  the  year  747  A.U.C.,  or  seven  before  Christ,  in  which  such  a  star 
should  appear  in  the  east.  Did  such  a  star,  then,  really  appear  in 
the  east  seven  years  before  the  Christian  era?  Astronomically 
speaking,  and  without  any  reference  to  controversy,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  most  remarkable  conjunction  of  planets — that  of 
Jupiter  and  Saturn  in  the  constellation  Pisces,  which  occurs  only 
once  in  800  years— did  take  place  no  less  than  three  times  in  the 
year  747  A.U.C.,  or  two  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ  (in  May, 
October,  and  December).  This  conjunction  is  admitted  by  all 
astronomers.  It  was  not  only  extraordinary,  but  presented  the  most 
brilliant  spectacle  in  the  night  sky,  such  as  could  not  but  attract  the 
attention  of  all  who  watched  the  sidereal  heavens,  but  especially  of 
those  who  busied  themselves  with  astrology.  In  the  year  following, 
that  is,  in  748  A.U.C.,  another  planet,  Mars,  joined  this  conjunction. 
The  merit  of  first  discovering  these  facts — of  which  it  is  unnecessary 
here  to  present  the  literary  history — belongs  to  the  great  Kepler,  who, 
accordingly,  placed  the  nativity  of  Christ  in  the  year  748  A.U.C. 
This  date,  however,  is  not  only  well-nigh  impossible,  but  it  has  also 
been  shown  that  such  a  conjunction  would,  for  various  reasons,  not 
answer  the  requirements  of  the  Evangelical  narrative,  so  far  as  the 
guidance  to  Bethlehem  is  concerned.  But  it  does  fully  account  for 
the  attention  of  the  Magi  being  aroused,  and — even  if  they  had  not 
possessed  knowledge  of  the  Jewish  expectancy  above  described — for 
their  making  inquiry  of  all  around,  and  certainly,  among  others,  of 
the  Jews.  Here  we  leave  the  domain  of  the  certain,  and  enter  upon 
that  of  the  probable.  Kepler,  who  was  led  to  the  discovery  by 
observing  a  similar  conjunction  in  1603-4,  also  noticed,  that  when 
the  three  planets  came  into  conjunction,  a  new,  extraordinarily 
brilliant,  and  peculiarly  coloured  evanescent  star  was  visible  between 
Jupiter  and  Saturn,  and  he  suggested  that  a  similar  star  had  appeared 
under  the  same  circumstances  in  the  conjunction  preceding  the 
Nativity.  Of  this,  of  course,  there  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  absolute 
certainty.  But,  if  so,  this  would  be  "  the  star  "  of  the  Magi  "  in  its 
rising."  There  is  yet  another  remarkable  statement  which,  however, 
must  also  be  assigned  only  to  the  domain  of  the  probable.  In  the 
astronomical  tables  of  the  Chinese — to  whose  general  trustworthiness 


538      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES, 

so  high  an  authority  as  Humboldt  bears  testimony — the  appearance 
of  an  evanescent  star  was  noted.  Pingre  and  others  have  designated 
it  as  a  comet,  and  calculated  its  first  appearance  in  February, 
750  A.U.C.,  which  is  just  the  time  when  the  Magi  would,  in  all  pro- 
bability, leave  Jerusalem  for  Bethlehem,  since  this  must  have  pre- 
ceded the  death  of  Herod,  which  took  place  in  March,  750. 
Moreover,  it  has  been  astronomically  ascertained  that  such  a  sidereal 
apparition  would  be  visible  to  those  who  left  Jerusalem,  and  that  it 
would  point — almost  seem  to  go  before — in  the  direction  of,  and 
stand  over,  Bethlehem.' 

Such,  impartially  stated,  are  the  facts  of  the  case ;  and  here  the 
subject  must,  in  the  present  state  of  our  information,  be  left. 

Miraculous  Release  of  Apostles. 

ACTS  v.  19  :  '  But  the  angel  of  the  Lord  by  night  opened  the  prison  doors,  and 
brought  them  forth.'  (See  also  chap.  xii.  6-n.) 

Difficulty. — Such  a  temporary  deliverance  seems  an  ineffective  dis- 
play of  power >  for  the  apostles  were  arrested  again  the  next  day. 

Explanation- — The  thing  to  decide  in  this  case  is  the  moral 
impression  which  such  a  deliverance  would  produce,  both  on  the 
disciples,  and  on  the  enemies  of  our  Lord.  That  moral  impression 
alone  can  account  for  what  is  certainly  a  supernatural  event.  The 
mere  rescue  of  the  disciples  was  quite  a  secondary  matter ;  but  it 
was  of  the  first  importance  that  the  company  of  disciples  should  feel 
that  a  Divine  shield  was  around  them,  and  it  was  of  equal  importance 
that  their  enemies  should  be  made  to  fear  to  touch  them,  seeing 
that  the  Lord  was  evidently  with  them. 

Comparing  the  two  cases,  we  gather  that  the  statement  concerning 
the  angel  opening  the  prison  doors  is  the  explanation  which  the 
delivered  give  of  their  deliverance.  It  is  the  only  way  in  which  they  can 
account  for  what  happened ;  but  it  is  not  said  that  they  saw  any 
angel.  A  Jew  thought  of  all  unusual  circumstances,  or  deliverances, 
as  the  work  of  an  angel.  More  especially  in  the  case  of  Peter  we 
can  see  that  he  was  in  a  trance,  or  somnambulic  state,  for  it  is  said 
that  when  he  reached  a  certain  street,  '  he  came  to  himself.'  It  is 
well  known  that  the  somnambulist  can  do  the  most  extraordinary 
things  in  his  unconsciousness ;  and,  in  accordance  with  the  principle 
which  we  have  accepted  in  treating  of  all  the  miraculous  interposi- 
tions, we  may  recognise  the  somnambulic  state  as  the  agency  which 
God  was  pleased  to  use  on  these  occasions  in  extraordinary 
measures. 


MIRACULOUS  RELEASE  OF  APOSTLES.         539 

Dean  Plumptre,  noticing  that  Peter  must  himself  have  furnished 
this  account  of  his  experiences,  adds  :  *  As  in  the  activity  of  somnam- 
bulism, the  will  directed  the  actions  of  the  body,  and  yet  was  only 
half  conscious  of  what  it  did.  It  may  be  noted  that  his  experience 
of  the  trance  and  vision  narrated  in  chap.  x.  would  tend  to  suggest 
the  impression  that  he  was  passing  through  phenomena  of  a  like 
kind.' 

Olshausen  deals  fully  with  these  incidents,  in  view  of  the  naturalistic 
explanations  that  have  been  offered.  '  The  account  which  follows  of 
the  deliverance  of  Peter  from  imprisonment,  illustrates  the  shorter 
account  of  a  similar  occurrence  which  is  communicated  at  chap.  v.  17, 
etc. ;  and  it  also  readily  admits  of  being  compared  with  the  wonderful 
deliverance  of  Paul  and  Silas  from  imprisonment  at  Philippi,  recorded 
in  chap.  xi.  26,  etc.  An  impartial  comparison  of  these  narratives 
may  perhaps  leave  it  uncertain  for  a  moment,  whether  real  visible 
appearances  of  angels  are  meant  in  them ;  and  this  again  accounts 
for  the  fact,  that  we  find  the  more  recent  interpreters  adopting  very 
different  views  of  these  occurrences.  According  to  Hazel,  it  was  a 
thunderstorm  combined  with  an  earthquake  which  delivered  Peter, 
and  this  natural  phenomenon  was  described  by  him,  after  the  Jewish 
manner  of  speaking,  as  an  angel.  According  to  Eichhorn,  who  is 
followed  by  Heinrichs,  Peter  was  delivered  by  Christian  friends,  or 
by  the  keeper  of  the  prison  himself,  but  he  did  not  well  know  himself 
to  whom  he  owed  his  deliverance,  and  therefore  supposed  he  must 
ascribe  it  to  a  Divine  messenger.  Kuinoel  expresses  himself  unde- 
cidedly; while  all  the  older  interpreters  understood  the  angelic 
appearance  in  the  literal  sense.  Now  with  respect  to  the  first  view, 
it  is  undeniable  that  natural  phenomena  of  a  certain  kind  are  styled 
angels ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  chap.  xvi.  26,  etc.,  it  is 
an  earthquake  only  that  must  be  thought  of,  for  even  the  text  refers 
to  nothing  else ;  but  the  representation  made  in  the  passage  before 
us  does  not  permit  this  supposition,  because  the  seventh  and  eighth 
verses  (chap,  xii.)  describe  the  angel  as  acting  quite  like  a  person : 
the  like  description  is  never  found  where  natural  powers  are  styled 
angels.  Far  more  plausible  is  the  other  view,  which  supposes  Peter 
himself  not  to  have  known  how  his  deliverance  was  effected.  This 
idea  appears  to  be  favoured  by  the  words  in  verse  9  :  "  And  wist  not 
that  it  was  true  which  was  done  by  the  angel,"  taken  in  connection 
with  verse  n,  according  to  which  latter  passage  Peter  first  comes  to 
himself  in  the  street,  and  appears  now  to  conclude  that  an  angel  must 
have  delivered  him.  But  these  words  cannot  establish  that  view, 
because,  in  the  first  place,  it  was  contrary  to  the  principles  of  the 


540     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES 

Christians  to  deliver  either  themselves  or  others  from  such  dangers 
by  fraudulent  artifices.  But  certainly  on  this  view  it  must  be  supposed 
that  either  the  jailor  or  the  soldiers  were  bribed  by  Peter's  deliverer  ; 
and  should  it  be  said  that  the  jailor  himself  might  be  favourably 
disposed  toward  the  apostles,  yet  not  the  less  would  he  have  violated 
his  duty,  if  he  had  let  the  prisoners  escape.  Again,  this  view  gives 
no  explanation  of  the  unconscious  condition  of  Peter  :  amid  so  many 
occurrences  and  incidents,  he  could  not  fail  to  overcome  the  oppres- 
sion of  sleep,  and  to  recognise  the  friend  that  was  helping  him.  In 
fine,  the  fact  that  the  soldiers  did  not  awake,  as  is  plain  from  verse 
1 8,  till  the  morning,  but  little  accords  with  this  view.  The  only 
matter,  therefore,  which  can  properly  be  made  a  question  here,  is 
whether  we  are  to  suppose  a  real  appearance  of  an  angel  or  only  a 
vision.  Now  certainly  the  occurrence  did  bear  some  resemblance  to 
an  ecstatic  vision,  for  Peter  himself  took  this  view  of  it  for  a  time 
(ver.  9),  but  the  reality  of  the  effects  which  were  connected  with  it 
does  not  permit  the  supposition  of  a  mere  vision,  and  it  was  on  this 
very  ground  that  Peter  himself  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  been 
favoured  with  an  actual  visit  from  an  angel.  A  mere  mental  vision 
is  never  accompanied  with  physical  effects.  That  he  might  be 
uncertain,  however,  for  a  moment,  whether  it  was  a  vision  he  saw  or 
a  real  angelic  appearance,  is  to  be  explained  from  the  fact,  that  every 
manifestation  from  the  higher  order  of  existences  is  attended  with  a 
powerful  excitement  in  the  soul,  which  produces  a  state  of  mind  akin 
to  ecstasy.  And  this  may  easily  render  it  uncertain  whether  the 
whole  be  something  purely  internal,  or  whether  there  be  also  some- 
thing outward  :  the  grand  criterion  in  favour  of  the  latter  is  the 
appearance  of  real  visible  results.' 

Philip  Caught  Away. 

ACTS  viii.  39  :  *  And  when  they  were  come  up  out  of  the  water,  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  caught  away  Philip,  that  the  eunuch  saw  him  no  more  :  and  he  went  on 
his  way  rejoicing.' 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  that  Philip  was  suddenly  taken 
up)  or  away,  out  of  the  sight  of  the  eunuch,  or  is  the  narrative  sufficiently 
explained  by  assuming  that  Philip  hurried  away  ? 

Answer. — The  last  incident  of  this  interview  receives  at  least 
partial  explanation  from  two  previous  incidents.  From  verse  26 
we  learn,  that  a  special  direction  was  given  to  Philip  as  to  the 
route  he  should  take.  The  direction  is  said  to  have  been  given  by 
*  an  angel,'  but  we  are  not  told  whether  any  outward  form  appeared 


PHILIP  CA UGHT  AWAY.  54 1 

to  him,  or  whether  the  angel's  suggestion  came  as  an  inward  impulse. 
If  we  can  realize  that  God  presides  over  the  will,  the  judgment,  and 
the  decision,  according  to  the  promise,  *  The  meek  will  He  guide  in 
judgment,  and  the  meek  will  He  teach  His  way,'  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  understand  that  Philip  recognised  Divine  guidance  in  a 
very  strong  inward  impulse  to  do  what  seemed  a  somewhat  un- 
reasonable, or  at  least  useless,  thing.  When  the  eunuch's  chariot 
came  in  sight,  we  are  told  that  *  the  Spirit  said  unto  Philip,  Go  near, 
and  join  thyself  to  this  chariot '  (ver.  29).  In  this  case  an  inward 
impulsion,  that  seemed  like  the  hearing  of  an  actual  voice,  is  clearly 
meant.  We  have,  therefore,  three  descriptions  of  similar  incidents, 
and  one  description  helping  another ;  we  gather  that  in  each  case  an 
intense  inward  desire,  a  feeling  that  he  must  do  such  and  such  a 
thing,  explains  the  action  of  this  evangelist.  '  An  impulse  so  strong 
and  irresistible  that  it  was  felt  to  be  from  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  led 
Philip  to  an  abrupt  and  immediate  departure.  He  was  literally 
snatched  away  from  his  companion.' 

Dean  Plumptre  thinks  there  may  have  been  a  *  suspension  of  the 
normal  activity  of  consciousness/  and  adds  :  *  As  St.  Bernard  walked 
by  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  and  knew  not  that  he  was  near  it,  so  Philip 
rushed  away,  as  drawn  on  he  knew  not  whither,  as  in  a  state  of 
ecstacy ;  and  so,  in  informing  St.  Luke  of  what  passed  (it  is  obvious 
that  the  report  must,  in  the  first  instance,  have  come  from  him),  could 
give  no  other  account  of  his  journeying  than  that  he  was  "  found  "  at 
Azotus.' 

Noticing  that  in  verse  26  an  '  angel '  is  mentioned,  and  in  verse 
.-9  the  *  Spirit,'  Olshausen  observes  that  'by  angels  we  are  by  no 
means  always  to  understand  beings  appearing  as  individuals,  but  often 
spiritual  powers.  Even  in  verse  26,  we  are  not  to  suppose  the  actual 
appearance  o.f  an  angel,  but  an  inward  spiritual  communication  which 

was  made  to  Philip He  goes  not  his  own  way,  but  the  im 

pulses  of  the  Spirit  guide  all  his  steps.' 

Barnes  is  almost  fierce  on  those  who  see  the  miraculous  in  this 
incident  The  phrase  « caught  away '  has  been  usually  understood 
of  a  forcible  or  miraculous  removal  of  Philip  to  some  other  place. 
Some  have  even  supposed  that  he  was  borne  through  the  air  by  an 
angel.  (See  even  Doddridge.)  To  such  foolish  interpretations  have 
many  expositors  been  led  The  meaning  is,  clearly,  that  the  Spirit, 
who  had  directed  Philip  to  go  near  the  eunuch,  now  removed  him  in 
a  similar  manner.  It  is  not  wise  to  suppose  the  existence  of  a 
miracle,  except  where  the  effect  cannot  otherwise  be  accounted  for, 
and  except  where  there  is  a  plain  statement  that  there  was  a 


542     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

miracle.  All  that  can  be  signified  here  is,  that  the  Spirit  strongly 
admonished  Philip  to  go  to  some  other  place ;  that  He  so  forcibly  or 
vividly  suggested  the  duty  to  his  mind,  as  to  tear  him  away,  as  it  were, 
from  the  society  of  the  eunuch. 

Miracles  of  Supply. 

JOHN  ii.  1 1  :  '  This  beginning  of  miracles  did  Jesus  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  and 
manifested  forth  His  glory.' 

Difficulty. — There  must  surely  have  been  some  deep  moral  purpose 
which  explains  a  miracle — and  a  class  of  miracles — that  seems  too 
trivial  for  a  putting  forth  of  miraculous  powers. 

Explanation. — All  the  miracles  of  supply  can  have  the  objection 
brought  against  them,  that  they  are  very  temporary  removals  of  very 
insignificant  disabilities.  Our  answer  to  the  objection  is,  that  a  slight 
and  simple  incident  may  be  a  very  effective  picture-teaching;  and 
that  for  man's  welfare  it  is  necessary  to  present  great  truths  in  small 
settings.  It  was  a  little  thing  to  supply  the  wine  deficiencies  at  a 
marriage-feast,  but  it  was  a  great  thing  for  Christ  to  manifest  forth 
His  glorj>. 

In  an  introductory  note  to  this- section,  we  have  given  Dr.  George 
Macdonald's  suggestion  for  the  reading  of  our  Lord's  miracles.  It 
will  interest  our  readers  to  see,  in  some  detail,  his  mode  of  applying 
this  suggestion  to  the  miracles  of  supply.  But  it  may  be  well  first 
to  notice  that  Dr.  Macdonald's  idea  is  but  a  revival  of  the  older  view 
of  the  miracles.  Dean  Howson  remarks:  *  It  will  suffice  here  to 
quote  what  was  said,  hundreds  of  years  ago,  by  two  great  Christian 
writers ;  and  it  is  surprising  to  see  how  Augustine  and  Chrysostom, 
in  their  Latin  and  Greek  commentaries,  employ  the  very  same  words 
which  it  is  most  to  our  purpose  to  use  now.  The  substance  of  what 
they  both  say  is  this  :  men  saw  that  which  had  been  water  suddenly 
turned  into  wine,  and  they  wondered.  But  is  not  this  same  thing 
done  every  year  in  every  vineyard  ?  God  works  miracles  daily  in 
the  whole  range  of  creation,  and  they  are  disregarded,  not  because 
they  are  not  full  of  wonder,  but  because  they  are  common.  That 
which  is  done  slowly  and  gradually  through  the  root  and  branches  of 
the  vine  was  here  done  quickly  at  the  marriage-feast,  and  by  the 
same  power. 

Dr.  Macdonald  says :  *  To  him  who  can  thank  God  with  free  heart 
for  his  good  wine,  there  is  a  glad  significance  in  the  fact  that  our 
Lord's  first  miracle  was  this  turning  of  water  into  wine.  It  is  a  true 
symbol  of  what  He  had  done  for  the  world  in  glorifying  all  things. 


MIRACLES  OF  SUPPLY.  543 

With  His  Divine  alchemy  He  turns  not  only  water  into  wine,  but 
common  things  into  radiant  mysteries,  yea,  every  meal  into  a  Eucharist, 
and  the  sepulchre  into  an  outgoing  gate.  .  .  .  That  the  wine  should 
be  His  first  miracle,  and  that  the  feeding  of  the  multitudes  should 
be  the  only  other  creative  miracle,  will  also  suggest  many  thoughts  in 
connection  with  the  symbol  He  has  left  us  of  His  relation  to  His 
brethren.  In  the  wine  and  the  bread  of  the  Eucharist,  He  reminds 
us  how  utterly  He  has  given,  is  giving,  Himself  for  the  gladness  and 
strength  of  His  Father's  children.  Yea  more ;  for  in  that  He  is  the 
radiation  of  the  Father's  glory,  this  bread  and  wine  is  thj  symbol  of 
how  utterly  the  Father  gives  Himself  to  His  children,  how  earnestly 
He  would  have  them  partakers  of  His  own  being.' 

Referring  to  the  quietness  with  which  the  miracle  was  wrought, 
Dr.  Macdonald  adds :  '  Herein  we  find  another  point  in  which  this 
miracle  of  Jesus  resembles  the  working  of  His  Father.  For  God 
ministers  to  us  so  gently,  so  stolenly,  as  it  were,  with  such  a  quiet, 
tender,  loving  absence  of  display,  that  men  often  drink  of  His  wine, 
as  these  wedding  guests  drank,  without  knowing  whence  it  comes — 
without  thinking  that  the  Giver  is  beside  them,  yea,  in  their  very 
hearts.  For  God  will  not  compel  the  adoration  of  men ;  it  would  be 
but  a  pagan  worship  that  would  bring  to  His  altars.  He  will  rouse 
in  men  a  sense  of  need,  which  shall  grow  at  length  into  a  longing  ; 
He  will  make  them  feel  after  Him,  until  by  their  search  becoming 
able  to  behold  Him,  He  may  at  length  reveal  to  them  the  glory  of 
their  Father.' 

There  is  a  difficulty,  connected  with  this  particular  miracle,  which 
presses  heavily  on  many  minds,  and  needs  a  passing  reference.  Dean 
Howson  states  it,  and  meets  it.  *  There  seems  to  be  here  a  sanction 
of  the  large  use  of  intoxicating  drinks;  while  yet  we  know  that 
drunkenness  is  the  prolific  cause  of  fully  half  the  dreadful  moral  evil 
that  surrounds  us  in  this  country.  What  are  we  to  say  to  this  ?  I 
believe  the  most  important  thing  to  be  said  is  this — that  in  all  such 
matters  God  assumes  to  Himself  the  responsibility  of  asserting  the 
blessing  and  the  usefulness  of  that  which  He  gives,  and  throws  on  us 
the  responsibility  of  excess,  and  of  its  terrible  consequences.  Certain 
minor  considerations  are,  indeed,  to  be  carefully  borne  in  mind,  a*, 
for  instance,  that  the  wine  of  that  country  was  not  a  hot  and  fiery 
liquor,  such  as  madc^ns  too  many  in  this  climate  (especially  when  it 
is  adulterated),  but  a  light  and  refreshing  drink,  by  no  means  injurious 
to  health  when  used  in  moderation— as  all  God's  gifts  are  to  be 
used.' 


544      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
Restored  Eutychus. 

ACTS  xx.  10 :  4  And  Paul  went  down,  and  fell  on  him,  and  embracing  him,  said, 
Trouble  not  yourselves  ;  for  his  life  is  in  him.' 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  that  Paul  corrected  the  fear  of 
t/ie  people  that  Eutychus  was  really  dead,  or  must  we  accept  the  fact 
that  he  ivas  actually ',  and  at  once,  killed  by  the  fall '? 

Answer. — It  is  certainly  unlikely  that  a  fall  from  a  second-story 
window  would  result  in  immediate  death,  but  it  is  not  impossible  ; 
and  as  Eutychus  fell  in  his  sleep,  he  would  make  no  effort  to  mitigate 
the  fall,  by  putting  out  his  hands,  or  otherwise.  We  may  be  sure,  too, 
that,  in  such  an  instance,  a  man  would  fall  very  heavily  on  his  head. 
And  yet  the  narrative  may  only  give  the  general  impression  of  the 
bystanders ;  the  exclamation  would  at  once  be  made  by  those  who 
looked  on  the  rigid  figure,  '  He  is  dead  !'  It  does  not  quite  appear 
whether  Paul  said  '  his  life  is  in  him '  before  or  after  his  efforts  to 
restore  animation;  but  it  at  once  strikes  attention  that  such  an 
assurance  would  be  very  comforting  before  attempting  to  revive  him, 
and  very  unnecessary  when  everybody  could  see  the  signs  of  return- 
ing consciousness.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  Paul  may  have 
made  this  remark  to  the  company  upstairs,  after  he  returned  to 
resume  his  preaching. 

No  dogmatic  assertion  should  be  made  on  this  subject.  It  was 
quite  within  Paul's  gift  to  restore  the  dead,  or  to  restore  the  stunned ; 
but  our  own  feeling,  upon  due  consideration  of  the  narrative,  is  that 
the  life  of  Eutychus  was  only  suspended. 

Dean  Plumptre  says,  on  verse  9 :  *  What  follows  is  obviously  re- 
lated as  a  miraculous  resuscitation  ;  but  it  may  be  questioned,  looking 
at  St.  Paul's  words,  "  his  life  is  in  him,"  whether  more  than  apparent 
death  is  meant.  He  was  to  all  appearance  dead — would  have  died 
but  for  the  prayer  of  the  Apostle ;  but  there  had  been  no  fracture  of 
limb  or  skull,  and  the  cause  of  death,  or  of  the  state  that  looked  like 
death,  was  the  shock  given  to  the  brain  and  nerves  by  the  violence  of 
the  fall.'  *  The  act  of  Paul  reminds  us  of  the  acts  of  Elijah  (i  Kings 
xvii.  21)  and  Elisha  (2  Kings  iv.  34).  The  close  contact,  the  clasp 
of  warm  affection,  gave  a  new  intensity  to  the  prayer  of  faith,  and,  as 
a  current  of  vitality  passed,  as  it  were,  from  the  one  body  to  the 
other,  enabled  the  Apostle  to  feel  that  the  heart  had  not  ceased  to 
beat,  and  to  give  the  calming  assurance,  *  his  liie  is  in  him.' 


PAULS  VISIONS. 


Paul's  Visions. 


545 


ACTS  xxvii.  23,  24  :  '  For  there  stood  by  me  this  night  the  angel  of  God,  whose 
I  am,  and  whom  1  serve,  saying,  Fear  not,  Paul ;  thou  must  be  brought  before 
Ca-sar  :  and,  lo,  God  hath  given  thee  all  them  that  sail  with  thee.' 

Question. — In  what  manner  are  we  to  think  of  this  and  other 
direct  Divine  communications  made  to  the  Apostle  Paul  ? 

Answer. — It  is  not  sufficiently  apprehended  that  Paul  claimed 
to  have  distinct  and  personal  revelations  from  God.  Called  into  the 
Christian  discipleship  by  a  '  heavenly  vision,'  it  was  characteristic  of 
his  entire  Christian  course  that  he  was  open  to,  sensitive  to,  heavenly 
visions.  It  is  not  probable  that  they  were  mere  impressions  by 
dreams,  we  rather  regard  them  as  waking  visions,  things  seen  and 
heard  in  times  of  ecstasy,  rapture,  absorption,  trance,  which  often 
followed  long  seasons  of  prayer.  Such  revelations  of  the  Divine 
will  were  most  real  to  Paul ;  they  were  his  direct  audience  of  the 
Master  whose  service  he  had  chosen  when  his  first  revelation  came 
to  him  outside  Damascus.  Of  one  such  vision  he  says,  '  Whether 
in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body  I  cannot  tell,'  and  probably  this  was 
more  or  less  his  feeling  on  all  the  occasions. 

Olshausen  says  of  the  vision  by  night  that  summoned  Paul  to 
Macedonia :  *  This  vision  is  commonly  supposed  to  have  been  a 
dream,  but  the  text  does  not  necessarily  lead  to  this  conclusion,  for 
"  by  night "  does  not  exclude  the  idea  of  being  awake.  Paul  may 
have  seen  the  vision  while  praying  by  night,  as  it  appears  from 
chapter  xvi.  25,  he  was  wont  to  do.  Besides,  my  fundamental 
principle  as  to  the  gradation  of  the  modes  of  Divine  revelation 
prevents  me  from  admitting  the  idea  of  a  dream  here.  Communica- 
tion by  dreams  is  the  lowest  form  of  revelation,  and  we  do  not  meet 
with  it  elsewhere  in  the  case  of  the  apostles,  who  were  endowed  with 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Their  visions  of  ecstasy  they  always  received  in  a 
waking  condition.' 

Dean  Plumptre  says :  '  With  most  others  of  the  enthusiastic  type  of 
character,  visions,  real  or  supposed,  of  messengers  from  the  unseen 
world,  have  produced  terror  and  agitation.  With  St.  Paul  they  are 
the  source  of  a  calm  strength  and  presence  of  mind  which  he  is  able, 
in  his  turn,  to  impress  on  others.' 

Upon  the  Divine  visions  and  revelations  given  to  him  Paul  in  great 
part  rested  his  apostolic  claim.  To  him  an  apostle  was,  just  what  a 
prophet  of  the  olden  time  had  been,  a  man  who  had  direct  and 
personal  communications  with  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  received  instruc- 
tions immediately  from  Him.  For  such  instances  in  Paul's  career, 

35 


546      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

see  Acts  ix.  4-6;  xvi.  9;  xviil  9;  xxii.  18  ;  xxiii.  n;  2  Cor.  xii ; 
Gal.  ii.  2.  This  claim  to  direct  revelation  the  enemies  of  St.  Paul 
denied,  and  laughed  to  scorn  his  pretensions  as  the  indications  of 
insanity. 

F.  W.  Robertson  says  :  '  To  comprehend  the  visions  we  must 
comprehend  the  man.  For  God  gives  visions  at  His  own  will,  and 
according  to  certain  and  fixed  laws.  He  does  not  inspire  everyone. 
He  does  not  reveal  His  mysteries  to  men  of  selfish,  or  hard,  or 
phlegmatic  temperaments.  He  gives  preternatural  communication 
to  those  whom  He  prepares  beforehand  by  a  peculiar  spiritual  sensi- 
tiveness. There  are,  physically,  certain  sensitivenesses  to  sound  and 
colour  that  qualify  men  to  become  gifted  musicians  and  painters  ;  so, 
spiritually,  there  are  certain  strong  original  susceptibilities  (I  say 
original,  as  derived  from  God,  the  origin  of  all),  and  on  these  God 
bestows  strange  gifts  and  sights,  deep  feeling  not  to  be  uttered  in 
human  language,  and  immeasurable  by  the  ordinary  standard.  Such 
a  man  was  St.  Paul — a  very  wondrous  nature,  the  Jewish  nature  in 
all  its  strength.  We  know  that  the  Jewish  temperament  fitted  men 
to  be  the  organs  of  a  revelation.  Its  fervour,  its  moral  sense,  its  venera- 
tion, its  indomitable  will,  all  adapted  the  highest  sons  of  the  nation  for 
receiving  hidden  truths  and  communicating  them  to  others/ 

In  ecclesiastical  history  mention  is  made  of  one  Theodorus,  a 
martyr  put  to  extreme  torments  by  Julian  the  Apostate,  and  dis- 
missed again  by  him  when  he  saw  him  unconquerable.  Rufinus,  in 
his  history,  says  that  he  met  with  this  martyr  a  long  time  after  his 
trial,  and  asked  him  whether  the  pains  he  felt  were  not  insufferable  ? 
He  answered  that  at  first  it  was  somewhat  grievous,  but  after  a  while 
there  seemed  to  stand  by  him  a  young  man  in  white,  who,  with  a  soft 
and  comfortable  handkerchief,  wiped  off  the  sweat  from  his  body 
(which  through  extreme  anguish  was  little  less  than  blood),  and  bade 
him  be  of  good  cheer,  insomuch  as  that  it  was  rather  a  punishment 
than  a  pleasure  to  him  to  be  taken  off  the  rack.  When  the  tormen- 
tors had  done,  the  angel  was  gone. 

'Visions  and  revelations  do  not  belong  to  any  one  age.  We 
have  no  right  to  say  that  they  are  limited  to  ancient  times.  There 
have  always  been  the  true  and  the  counterfeit ;  but  the  true  should 
not  be  missed  or  denied  because  the  false  have  been  found  out. 
There  are  good  gold  coins,  or  men  would  not  trouble  to  make 
spurious  sovereigns.  Fanaticism  deludes  its  victims  into  imaginary 
visions,  but  souls  that  are  kin  with  God,  and  open  to  Him,  can 
receive  communications  from  Him.  See  instances  in  Noah,  Abraham, 
Jacob,  Joseph,  Moses,  Joshua,  Gideon,  Samuel,  David,  Isaiah, 


THE  ANNOUNCEMENT  TO  SHEPHERDS.       547 

Joseph  (husband  of  Mary),  Simeon,  Zacharias,  etc.  So,  in  the 
Christian  age,  we  find  visions  granted  to  Cornelius,  Philip,  Peter, 
John,  as  well  as  Paul,  and  traces  of  prophets,  such  as  Agabus,  and 
even  of  prophetesses.  St.  Paul's  visions  were  probably  of  the  nature 
of  a  trance;  the  mind  being  absorbed  in  contemplation  may  be 
prepared  to  receive  Divine  revealings.  It  is  right  to  subject  all 
claims  to  visions  to  careful  scrutiny,  and  the  things  communicated  to 
men  at  such  times  must  be  tested  by  their  harmony  with  the  written 
revelation ;  but  we  need  not  refuse  to  recognise  the  truth  that  God 
has  direct  relations  to  souls  now  as  certainly  as  in  past  ages.  Both 
truth  and  duty  may  still  be  revealed.' — Pulpit  Commentary. 


The  Announcement  to  Shepherds. 

LUKE  ii.  10,  1 1  :  •  And  the  angel  said  unto  them,  Fear  not ;  for,  behold,  I 
bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people.  For  unto  you  is 
born  this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord.' 

Difficulty. — There  seems  to  be  no  incident  recorded  in  the  earlier 
Scriptures  with  which  this  manifestation  to  tJie  shepherds  can  be  com- 
pared;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why  they  should  have  been  selected  as 
the  recipients  of  so  extraordinary  and  Divine  a  revelation. 

Explanation. — Schleiermacher* s  words  give  us  a  key  to  the 
understanding  of  this  incident.  'There  is  something  remarkable, 
something  Divine,  in  the  satisfaction  not  seldom  afforded  in  extra- 
ordinary times  even  to  individual  longings.'  We  are  compelled  to 
think  that  these  shepherds  must  have  been  men  who  were  *  looking  for 
redemption  in  Israel,'  for  we  are  well  assured  that  such  manifestations 
would  only  be  granted  to  prepared  hearts. 

Dr.  C.  Geikie  points  this  out :  '  To  have  received  such  surpassing 
honour  from  above,  they  must  have  been  members,  though  poor  and 
humble,  of  that  true  Israel  which  included  Mary  and  Joseph,  Zacharias 
and  Elisabeth,  Simeon  and  Anna — the  representatives,  in  those  dark 
days,  of  the  saints  of  their  nation  in  its  brighter  past.  They  must 
have  been  men  looking  out,  in  their  simple  way,  towards  the  invisible 
and  eternal,  and  seeking  that  Kingdom  of  God  for  themselves  which 
was  one  day,  as  they  believed,  to  be  revealed  in  their  nation  at  large. 
Only  that  mind  which  has  sympathy  with  external  nature  can  receive, 
in  their  true  significance,  the  impressions  it  is  fitted  to  convey,  and 
only  the  heart  which  has  sympathy  with  spiritual  things  can  recognise 
their  full  meaning.  Poetic  sensibility  is  required  in  the  one  case,  and 
religious  in  the  other.  In  each  it  is  the  condition  of  sincere  emo- 
tion.' 

35-2 


54«     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

The  associations  of  the  place  where  these  shepherds  watched  theii 
flocks,  and  which  may,  in  part  at  least,  explain  how  it  was  that  they 
were  the  chosen  recipients  of  the  revelation,  are  best  brought  out  by 
Dr.  Edersheim :  '  Jewish  tradition  may  here  prove  both  illustrative 
and  helpful.  That  the  Messiah  was  to  be  bom  at  Bethlehem  was  a 
settled  conviction.  Equally  so  was  the  belief,  that  He  was  to  be 
revealed  from  Migdal  Eder,  "the  tower  of  the  flock."  This  Migdal 
Eder  was  not  the  watch-tower  for  the  ordinary  flocks  which  pastured 
on  the  barren  sheep  ground  beyond  Bethlehem,  but  lay  close  to  the 
town,  on  the  road  to  Jerusalem.  A  passage  in  the  Mishna  leads  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  flocks,  which  pastured  there,  were  destined 
for  Temple  sacrifices,  and,  accordingly,  that  the  shepherds,  who 
watched  over  them,  were  not  ordinary  shepherds.  The  latter  were 
under  the  ban  of  Rabbinism,  on  account  of  their  necessary  isolation 
from  religious  ordinances,  and  their  manner  of  life,  which  rendered 
strict  legal  observance  unlikely,  if  not  absolutely  impossible.  The 
same  Mishnic  passage  also  leads  us  to  infer  that  these  flocks  lay  out 
all  the  year  round,  since  they  are  spoken  of  as  in  the  fields  thirty  days 
before  the  Passover — that  is,  in  the  month  of  February,  when  in 
Palestine  the  average  rainful  is  nearly  greatest.  Thus  Jewish  tradition 
in  some  dim  manner  apprehended  the  first  revelation  of  the  Messiah 
from  that  Migdal  Eder,  where  shepherds  watched  the  Temple  flocks 
all  the  year  round.  Of  the  deep  symbolic  significance  of  such  a 
coincidence,  it  is  needless  to  speak. 

'  Only  once  before  had  the  words  of  angels'  hymn  fallen  upon 
mortal's  ears,  when,  to  Isaiah's  rapt  vision,  Heaven's  high  Temple  had 
opened,  and  the  glory  of  Jehovah  swept  its  courts,  almost  breaking 
down  the  trembling  posts  that  bore  its  boundary  gates.  Now  the 
same  glory  enwrapt  the  shepherds  on  Bethlehem's  plains.  Then  the 
angels'  hymn  had  heralded  the  announcement  of  the  Kingdom 
coming  •  now  that  of  the  King  come.  Then  it  had  been  the  Tris- 
Hagion  of  prophetic  anticipation;  now  that  of  Evangelic  fulfilment.' 

The  suggestion  that  these  were  Temple  shepherds  seems  approved 
by  Dean  Plumptre,  who  says  :  '  The  statement  in  the  Mishna  that  the 
sheep  intended  for  a  sacrifice  in  the  Temple  were  pastured  in  the 
fields  of  Bethlehem  gives  a  special  interest  to  the  fact  thus  narrated, 
and  may,  perhaps,  in  part,  explain  the  faith  and  devotion  of  the 
shepherds.  They  had  been  rejoicing,  at  the  Paschal  season  over  the 
spring-tide  birth  of  the  lambs  of  their  flocks.  They  now  heard  of  the 
birth  of  the  "  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." ' 

(Dr.  Edersheim  and  Dean  Plumptre  do  not  agree  on  the  season 
of  the  year  in  which  our  Lord  was  born.  The  former  argues  for 
Christmas-tide,  the  latter  for  spring.) 


THE  ANNOUNCEMENT  TO  SHEPHERDS.       549 

Kitto  endeavours  to  meet  the  question:  'Why  were  these  poor 
shepherds  chosen  as  such  witnesses  ?'  He  replies  :  '  The  Lord,  who 
made  choice  of  them,  knows.  It  was  necessary  that  the  witnesses 
should  reside  in  or  near  Bethlehem ;  and  these  shepherds  alone  were 
abroad  and  awake  in  the  depth  of  the  silent  night.  Moreover,  the 
Gospel  delights  to  put  honour  on  those  of  low  degree.  The  general 
yearning  for  the  appearance  of  the  Messiah,  which  at  this  time  was 
felt  throughout  Judaea,  must  have  acquired  peculiar  intensity  at 
Bethlehem,  where  it  was  known  from  prophecy  that  Christ  should  be 
born ;  and  no  doubt,  as  Neander  says,  "  even  among  the  shepherds 
who  kept  nightly  watch  over  their  flocks,  were  some  who  anxiously 
awaited  the  appearance  of  the  Messiah.  It  is  true  the  account  does 
not  say  that  the  shepherds  thus  longed  for  the  Messiah.  But  we  are 
justified,  by  what  followed,  in  presupposing  it  as  the  ground  for  such 
a  communication  being  especially  made  to  them  ;  and  it  is  not  un- 
likely that  these  simple  souls,  untaught  in  the  traditions  of  the  scribes, 
and  nourished  by  communion  with  God,  amid  the  freedom  of  nature, 
in  a  solitude  congenial  with  meditation  and  prayer,  had  formed  a 
purer  idea  of  the  Messiah,  from  the  necessities  of  their  own  hearts, 
than  prevailed  at  that  time  among  the  Jews." ' 

Pressensffs  note  is  very  tender  and  suggestive.  *  This  great  event 
(the  birth  of  the  Saviour),  the  most  momentous  in  the  history  of  the 
world— since  it  divides  it  into  its  two  great  parts,  and  is  the  hidden 
pole  round  which  gravitate  all  human  destinies — took  place  as  un- 
heeded as  the  most  obscure.  No  one  marked  it,  except  the  angels  in 
heaven,  and  some  shepherds  who  were  keeping  their  flocks  on  one  of 
the  hills  which  surround  Bethlehem.  It  was  at  a  season  of  the  year 
when  the  softened  temperature  sometimes  made  it  needless  to  lead 
the  sheep  into  the  city  at  evening-time.  It  was,  doubtless,  one  of 
those  beautiful  Oriental  nights  when  the  heavens  proclaim  nothing  but 
mercy.  These  simple  men  were  chosen  as  the  first  to  receive  the 
good  tidings  of  great  joy,  because  they  were  waiting  for  it.  Every- 
thing in  those  fields,  where  the  young  David,  like  themselves,  had  fed 
his  flock,  reminded  them  of  the  promise  made  to  his  race,  and  they, 
as  well  as  the  scribes  at  Jerusalem,  had  doubtless  read  the  mysterious 
oracle,  which  declared  that  the  very  ground  they  were  treading  should 
be  the  cradle  of  Messiah.  Suddenly  the  startled  air  resounds  with  a 
mysterious  choir ;  they  hear  angelic  voices,  and  Divine  words  proclaim 
in  their  ears — "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest ;  peace  on  earth,  good 
will  towards  men"  (E.V).  The  shepherds  believed  the  things  which 
were  spoken  ;  simple,  artless  men  they  were,  who  had  not  learnt  in 
the  schools  at  Jerusalem  to  admit  as  possible  mercy  only  that  which 


550     HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

a  Pharisee  could  comprehend.  They  deemed  it  not  strange — and  we 
are  at  one  with  them — that  angels,  man's  elder  brothers,  dwelling  in 
a  purer  region,  where  evil  had  not  come,  should  celebrate  with  their 
sweetest  songs  such  an  event  as  the  birth  of  the  Redeemer.' 

The  general  difficulties  connected  with  all  angel-manifestations, 
both  in  the  earlier  and  later  dispensations,  will  be  found  fully  treated 
in  other  paragraphs. 

Paul's  Recovery  at  Lystra. 

ACTS  xiv.  19,  20 :  '  But  there  came  Jews  thither  from  Antioch  and  Iconium  ; 
and,  having  persuaded  the  multitudes,  they  stoned  Paul,  and  dragged  him  out  of 
the  city,  supposing  that  he  was  dead.  But  as  the  disciples  stood  round  about  him-, 
he  rose  up,  and  entered  into  the  city '  (Rev.  Ver.) 

Question. — Is  this  narrative  intended  to  suggest  that  Paul  was 
restored  by  any  miraculous  and  Divine  intervention  ? 

Answer. — There  is  no  good  reason  for  thinking  so.  Miracles 
seem  never  to  have  been  wrought  to  secure  Paul's  safety  in  scenes  of 
peril,  protection  from  shipwreck,  or  recovery  from  ordinary  sickness ; 
and  it  is  not  likely  there  would  be  any  exception  in  this  case  of 
stoning.  No  doubt  Paul  had  swooned,  and  showed  all  the  ordinary 
signs  of  death ;  but  there  are  remarkable  cases  of  temporary  sus- 
pension of  life,  which  fully  illustrate  both  Paul's  condition  when 
dragged  out  of  the  city,  and  the  suddenness  of  his  recovering  his 
vitality.  Still,  we  are  sure  he  must  have  been  very  prostrate  after 
such  treatment,  bruised  sadly,  and  needing  prolonged  rest  and  care. 

The  suggestion  has  been  made,  and  is  certainly  deserving  of  con- 
sideration, that  the  vision  of  the  c  third  heavens,'  of  which  he  writes 
in  2  Cor.  xii.  1-6,  and  of  which  he  says  :  *  Whether  in  the  body  or  out 
of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell,'  was  granted  him,  as  a  Divine  comforting, 
in  this  time  of  swooning.  The  hints  of  time  given  seem  to  accord 
pretty  well. 

Kitto  notices  that,  stoning  not  being  a  regular  Gentile  punishment, 
as  it  was  a  Jewish,  this  stoning  of  Paul  was  done  in  quite  a  tumultuous 
manner,  and  no  special  care  was  taken  to  secure  that  Paul  was  really 
dead.  *  In  this  case  it  seems  that  Paul  had  not  been  killed,  but 
only  rendered  insensible  by  some  of  the  blows  he  had  received.' 
It  seems  to  us,  however,  a  much  more  serious  case  than  one  of  mere 
stunning. 

Conybeare  and  Howson  describe  Paul  as  *  stoned  somewhere  in  the 
streets  of  Lystra,  and  then  dragged  through  the  city  gate,  and  cast 
outside  the  walls,  under  the  belief  that  he  was  dead.'  But  they 


PA UL'S  RECO VER Y  AT  L  YSTRA.  55 1 

almost  suggest  their  belief  in  a  special  Divine  intervention,  by  adding ; 
'  By  the  power  and  goodness  of  God  he  rose  from  a  state  of  apparent 
death  as  if  by  a  sudden  resurrection.' 

Farrar  gives  good  support  to  the  explanation  which  we  venture  to 
give  :  *  They  stoned  Paul,  and,  when  they  thought  he  was  dead, 
dragged  him  outside  their  city  gates,  leaving  him,  perhaps,  in  front 
of  the  very  Temple  of  Jupiter  to  which  they  had  been  about  to 
conduct  him  as  an  incarnation  of  their  patron  deity.  But  Paul  was 
not  dead.  This  had  not  been  a  Jewish  stoning,  conducted  with  fatal 
deliberateness,  but  a  sudden  riot,  in  which  the  mode  of  attack  may 
be  due  to  accident.  Paul,  liable  at  all  times  to  the  swoons  which 
accompany  nervous  organizations,  had  been  stunned,  but  not  killed  ; 
and  while  the  disciples  stood  in  an  agonized  group  around  what  they 
thought  to  be  his  corpse,  he  recovered  his  consciousness,  and  raised 
himself  from  the  ground.  The  mob,  meanwhile,  had  dispersed;  and, 
perhaps,  in  disguise,  or  under  cover  of  evening — for  all  these  details 
were  as  nothing  to  Paul,  and  are  not  preserved  by  his  biographer — he 
re-entered  the  little  city.' 

Brown,  in  the  Critical  Commentary,  says  of  this  incident :  *  It  is 
just  possible  that  this  recovery  was  natural ;  the  insensibility  occa- 
sioned by  such  treatment  as  he  had  received  sometimes  passing  away 
of  itself,  and  leaving  the  patient  less  hurt  than  appears.  But  certainly 
the  impression  naturally  left  on  the  mind  by  the  words  is,  that  the 
restoration  was  miraculous,  and  so  the  best  interpreters  understand 
the  words.' 

The  Miracles  and  Jewish  Symbols. 

LUKE  v.  12  :  '  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  He  was  in  a  certain  city,  behold  a 
man  full  of  leprosy  :  who  seeing  Jesus,  fell  on  his  face,  and  besought  Him,  saying, 
Lord,  if  Thou  wilt,  Thou  canst  make  me  clean.' 

Question. — Are  we  justified  in  getting  help  from  the  symbolic 
system  of  Judaism,  in  our  endeavour  to  understand  the  deeper  moral 
teaching  of  our  Lords  mighty  works? 

Answer. — Certainly  we  are.  And  probably  very  much  more 
would  be  learned  respecting  our  Lord's  redeeming  work,  if  we  had 
but  a  fuller  and  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  Jewish  symbolism. 
The  whole  subject  cannot  be  treated  here,  but  illustrations  of  it  may 
be  found  in  the  Jewish  sentiment  about  lepers,  and  Jewish  customs 
in  relation  to  lepers. 

The  following  passage,  from  Archbishop  Trench's  invaluable  work 
on  the  '  Miracles,'  gives  the  special  moral  significance  of  the  disease 
of  leprosy. 


552      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

1  The  ordinances  concerning  leprosy  had  a  deep  significance,  into 
which  it  will  be  needful  a  little  to  enter.  It  is  clear  that  the  same 
principle  which  made  all  that  had  to  do  with  death,  as  mourning,  a 
grave,  a  corpse,  the  occasions  of  a  ceremonial  uncleanness,  inasmuch 
as  all  these  were  signs  and  consequences  of  sin,  might,  in  like 
manner,  and  with  a  perfect  consistency,  have  made  every  sickness  a 
sign  of  uncleanness,  each  of  these  being  also  death  beginning,  partial 
death — echoes  in  the  body  of  that  terrible  reality,  sin  in  the  soul. 
But,  instead  of  this,  in  a  gracious  sparing  of  man,  and  not  pushing 
the  principle  to  the  uttermost,  God  took  but  one  sickness,  one  of 
these  visible  outcomings  of  a  tainted  nature,  in  which  to  testify  that 
evil  was  not  from  Him,  could  not  dwell  with  Him  :  He  took  but  one 
with  which  to  link  this  teaching,  and  that  it  may  serve  in  this  region  of 
man's  life  as  the  substratum  for  the  training  of  His  people  into  the  recog- 
nition of  a  clinging  impurity,  which  needed  a  Pure  and  a  Purifier 
to  overcome  and  expel,  and  which  no  method  short  of  His  taking  of 
our  flesh  could  drive  out.  And  leprosy,  which  was  indeed  the  sickness 
of  sicknesses,  was  through  these  Levitical  ordinances  selected  of  God 
from  the  whole  host  of  maladies  and  diseases  which  had  broken  in  upon 
man's  body ;  to  the  end  that,  bearing  His  testimony  against  that  out 
of  which  it  and  all  other  sicknesses  grew,  against  sin,  as  not  from 
Him,  as  grievous  in  His  sight ;  and  against  the  sickness  itself  also  as 
grievous,  inasmuch  as  it  was  a  visible  manifestation,  a  direct  con- 
sequence, of  the  inner  disharmony  of  man's  spirit,  a  commencement 
of  the  death  which,  through  disobedience  to  God's  perfect  will,  had 
found  entrance  into  a  nature  made  by  God  for  immortality. 

'  And  terrible  indeed,  as  might  be  expected,  was  that  disease,  round 
which  this  solemn  teaching  revolved.  Leprosy  was,  indeed,  nothing 
short  of  a  living  death,  a  poisoning  of  the  springs,  a  corrupting  of  all 
the  humours  of  life  ;  a  dissolution,  little  by  little,  of  the  whole  body, 
so  that  one  limb  after  another  actually  decayed  and  fell  away.  The 
disease,  moreover,  was  incurable  by  the  art  and  skill  of  man ;  not 
that  the  leper  might  not  return  to  health ;  for,  however  rare,  such 
cases  are  yet  contemplated  in  the  Levitical  law. 

'  Seeing  then  that  leprosy  was  this  outward  and  visible  sign  of  the 
innermost  spiritual  corruption,  this  sacrament  of  death,  there  could 
be  no  fitter  form  of  evil  over  which  the  Lord  of  life  should  display  His 
power.  He  will  thus  prove  Himself  the  conqueror  of  death  in  life, 
as  elsewhere  of  death  accomplished  ;  and  His  victory  over  this  most 
terrible  form  of  physical  evil  is,  therefore,  fitly  urged  as  a  testimony 
to  His  Messiahship  :  "The  lepers  are  cleansed"  (Matt.  xi.  15).' 


LIMITA  TION  OF  MIR  A  CLE.  553 


Limitation  of  Miracle. 

JOHN  x.  41  :  « And  many  resorted  unto  Him,  and  said,  John  did  no  miracle : 
but  all  things  that  John  spake  of  this  man  were  true.' 

Question. — Can  the  principles  on  which  miraculous  power  was 
given,  and  the  conditions  under  which  it  was  restrained,  be  understood  f 

Answer. — No  reader  of  the  narratives  of  the  Gospels,  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  can  fail  to  have  felt  that  the  occasions  on 
which  our  Lord  and  His  disciples  did  not  work  miracles  require 
explanation  as  truly  as  the  miracles  themselves. 

It  is  stated  as  a  matter  which  occasioned  public  remark,  that  John 
the  Baptist  '  did  no  miracle.'  It  was  made  an  accusation  against  our 
Lord  Himself  when  on  His  cross,  that  His  pretensions  as  a  miracle- 
worker  were  a  sham,  for  He  could  not  put  forth  power  to  save  Him- 
self in  the  time  of  His  extremity.  And  we  find  the  Apostle  Paul 
doctored  and  nursed  through  more  than  one  time  of  sickness,  and 
showing  no  signs  of  a  disposition  to  use  miraculous  power  to  meet 
his  own  need,  nor  resorting  even  to  that  '  faith-healing '  which  is  the 
fanaticism  of  our  times. 

We  are  evidently  to  understand  that  the  miraculous  gift  is  never 
an  endowment  of  a  person,  for  the  securing  of  his  own  ends.  It  is 
always  an  endowment  for  a  work  ;  it  belongs  strictly  and  exclusively 
to  the  work.  The  man  will  find  that  the  power  is  not  at  his  com- 
mand, if  he  attempts  to  use  it  outside  the  limits  of  his  work. 

Probably  here  lies  a  sufficient  distinction  between  the  true  and  the 
false  claim  to  the  possession  of  miraculous  gifts.  Does  a  man  claim 
the  possession  as  a  personal  possession,  bringing  him  honour  ?  Then 
his  is  a  false  claim.  Does  a  man  use  the  power  for  his  own  personal 
ends  ?  Then  his  is  a  false  claim.  God  endows  for  service,  and  for 
service  only — for  just  that  particular  service  to  which  he  calls  a  man. 

This  law  of  limitation  will  be  found  strictly  observed  by  our  Lord 
and  His  apostles.  It  is  indeed  the  great  working  law  for  all  forms 
of  Divine  gift. 

But  this  does  not  explain  the  fact  that,  though  John  the  Baptist 
was  a  prophet,  and  under  a  direct  call  and  commission  from  God,  no 
sort  of  miraculous  gifts  were  entrusted  to  him,  for  the  doing  of  his 
particular  work. 

Miracles  maybe  necessary  as  credentials  of  a  speaker;  or  to  call  atten- 
tion to  a  message  ;  or  to  provide  outward  illustrations  of  spiritual  truths 
or  processes.  But  in  neither  sense  had  John  the  Baptist  any  necessity 
for  them.  John  came  as  one  of  the  old  prophets.  He  was  like  one. 


554      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

People  accepted  him  as  such.  *  All  men  count  John  as  a  prophet.' 
Nobody  asked  for  credentials.  Nobody  was  staggered  by  his  appear- 
ance, or  habits,  or  claims,  or  words ;  as  so  many  were  with  Christ. 
John  had  really  an  old  message  to  deliver,  which  other  prophets  had 
delivered  before  him.  The  new  piece  of  it  was  only  this — the 
Kingdom  and  the  King  you  have  been  long  expecting  are  now  close 
at  hand  ; — but  he  needed  no  credentials  for  saying  this.  They  would 
be  fitting  enough  for  Him  who  claimed  to  be  the  King. 

Miracles  were  not  needed  to  call  attention  to  John's  message,  for 
everybody  flocked  to  hear  him  ;  and  he  only  demanded  a  right  moral 
attitude.  Conscience  sufficiently  certifies  moral  duties,  and  needs 
no  help  from  miracles. 

And  miracles  were  not  required  for  the  illustration  of  John's 
message.  A  rite,  which  enabled  penitent  souls  to  give  their  penitence 
outward  expression  and  seal  it  in  a  pledge,  was  the  appropriate 
thing  for  him,  and  not  miracle. 

We  may  fix  two  points  on  attention.  Miraculous  gifts  must  be 
strictly  limited  to  that  particular  kind  of  sendee  for  which  they  are 
given ;  and  miraculous  gifts  are  not  the  necessary  or  appropriate  gifts 
for  all  kinds  of  semnce. 

Angel-Aids. 

LUKE  xxii.  43 :  'And  there  appeared  an  angel  unto  him  from  heaven,  strengthen- 
ing him.' 

Question. — Are  we  to  understand  that  the  watching  disciples 
actually  saw  this  angel ;  or  is  it  the  best  explanation  they  can  give  of 
the  mysterious  support  which  their  Lord  evidently  received  in  His  great 
struggle  ? 

Answer. — In  forming  a  judgment,  due  account  must  be  taken  of 
the  fact  that  verses  43,  44,  are  omitted  in  some  of  the  best  Manu- 
scripts. Though,  on  the  whole,  the  balance  of  evidence  may  seem 
to  be  in  favour  of  their  retention,  we  must  admit  some  uncertainty 
as  to  their  origin.  In  the  Gospels  it  is  necessary,  on  many  occasions, 
to  distinguish  between  statements  of  fact,  and  statements  which  indi- 
cate only  the  impressions  which  certain  facts  produced  on  certain 
minds,  or  thoughts  which  writers  had  about  the  facts. 

It  also  arrests  attention  that  the  evangelist  only  says  the  angel 
-appeared  unto  Him?     He  does  not  intimate  that  anyone  else  saw 
the  angel,  and  the  subsequent  intercourse  of  Christ  with  the  disciples 
before  His  arrest  was  so  brief,  that  it  is  not  at  all  likely  He  would  • 
tell  them  about  the  angel. 


ANGEL-AIDS.  555 

Probably  Dean  Plumptrts  explanation  will  commend  itself  to  all 
who  feel  the  difficulty  of  this  narrative.  He  says  :  '  He  was  con- 
scious of  a  new  strength  to  endure  even  to  the  end.  And  that 
strength  would  show  itself  to  others,  to  disciples  who  watched  Him 
afar  off,  in  a  new  expression  and  look,  flashes  of  victorious  strength 
and  joy  alternating  with  throbs  and  spasms  of  anguish.  Whence 
could  that  strength  come  but  from  the  messengers  of  His  Father,  in 
whose  presence,  and  in  communion  with  whom  he  habitually  lived 
(Matt  iv.  ii ;  John  i.  51).  The  ministrations  which  had  been  with 
Him  in  His  first  temptation  were  now  with  Him  in  the  last 
<Matt  iv.  n).' 

Olshausen  understands  here  the  angel  of  the  *  accession  of  spiritual 
power.' 

Farrar  hesitates  to  speak  firmly  on  the  point,  but  he  inclines  to 
the  idea  that  the  appearance  of  the  angel  is  the  explanatory  suggestion 
of  the  disciples.  '  We  may  not  intrude  too  closely  into  this  scene. 
It  is  shrouded  in  a  halo  and  a  mystery  into  which  no  footsteps  may 
penetrate.  We,  as  we  contemplate  it,  are  like  those  disciples — our 
senses  are  confused,  our  perceptions  are  not  clear.  We  can  but  enter 
into  their  amazement  and  sore  distress.  Half  waking,  half  oppressed 
with  an  irresistible  weight  of  troubled  slumber,  they  only  felt  that 
they  were  dim  witnesses  of  an  unutterable  agony,  far  deeper  than 
anything  which  they  could  fathom,  as  it  far  transcended  all  that,  even 
in  our  purest  moments,  we  can  pretend  to  understand.  The  place 
seems  haunted  by  presences  of  good  and  evil,  struggling  in  mighty 
but  silent  contest  for  the  eternal  victory.  They  see  Him,  before 
whom  the  demons  had  fled  in  howling  terror,  lying  on  His  face  upon 
the  ground.  They  hear  that  voice  wailing  in  murmurs  of  broken 
agony,  which  had  commanded  the  wind  and  the  sea,  and  they  obeyed 
Him.  The  great  drops  01  anguish  which  drop  from  Him  in  the 
deathly  struggle,  look  to  them  like  heavy  gouts  of  blood.  Under  the 
dark  shadow  of  the  trees,  amid  the  interrupted  moonlight,  //  seems  to 
them  that  there  is  an  angel  with  Him,  who  supports  His  failing  strength, 
•who  enables  Him  to  rise  victorious  from  those  first  prayers  with 
nothing  but  the  crimson  traces  of  that  bitter  struggle  upon  His  brow.' 

It  may  be  freely  granted  that,  in  like  circumstances,  the  idea  of  an 
angel  appearing  to  strengthen  and  help  in  a  time  of  grave  mental 
distress,  is  not  the  suggestion  which  would  most  readily  come  to  us , 
but,  if  we  properly  understand  the  Jewish  notions  and  sentiments 
about  angels,  we  shall  see  that  it  is  precisely  the  idea  which  would 
first  come  to  the  mind  of  these  Jewish  disciples.  Some  references 
have  been  previously  made  to  the  Jewish  angelology,  but  it  will  be 


5$6      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

helpful  to  the  explanation  of  this,  and  other  cases  of  angel  aid,  if  we 
deal  with  it  in  some  detail. 

Farrar  tells  us  that  '  it  is  characteristic  of  the  Oriental,  and  espe- 
cially of  the  Semitic  mind,  to  see  in  every  event,  even  the  most 
trivial,  a  direct  supernatural  interference,  wrought  by  the  innumerable 
unseen  ministers — both  good  and  evil — of  the  Divine  will.  The 
definite  form  in  which  the  belief  clothed  itself  was,  by  the  admission 
of  the  Jews  themselves,  derived  from  Babylon. 

*  Even  the  most  ordinary  forces  and  phenomena  of  Nature,  and 
passions  of  the  mind,  were  by  them  regarded  as  angels.  Thus,  in 
the  Jer.  Targum  on  Deut.  ix.  19,  it  is  said  that,  to  punish  the 
Israelites  for  worshipping  the  golden  calf,  God  sent  five  angels — 
Indignation,  Anger,  Fury,  Ruin,  Wrath.  And  they  would  have 
interpreted  quite  literally  the  verse — "  He  maketh  the  winds  His 
angels,  and  fiery  flames  His  ministers  "  (Ps.  civ.  4). 

'The  number  of  the  angels — the  Tsebha  Hashamaim — was  im- 
mense. R.  Eliezer  said  that  at  Sinai  600,000  descended,  according 
to  the  number  of  the  600,000  Israelites ;  and  in  Bab.  Berachoth 
(32b),  we  find  the  following  story :  According  to  R.  Kish  Lakish, 
Isai.  xlix.  14  is  to  be  understood  as  follows.  The  Church  of  Israel 
•".omplains  to  God  :  "  Lord  of  the  world,  even  when  a  man  takes  a 
L-scond  wife  he  thinks  of  the  first ;  but  Thou  hast  utterly  forgotten 
me."  But  God  answered,  "Daughter,  I  have  12  mazaloth  (signs  of 
the  zodiac),  and  to  each  massal  30  chil  (commanders),  and  to  each  chel 
30  legions  (generals),  and  to  each  general  30  rabaton  (officers),  and  to 
each  rabaton  30  karton  (captains),  and  to  each  karton  30  kistra 
(camps),  and  to  each  kistron  I  have  assigned  3,650,000,000  stars. 
All  these  have  I  created  for  thy  sake,  and  yet  thou  sayest  I  have 
forgotten  thee." 

'  These  angels  were  all  divided  into  ranks  and  classes,  {  Thrones, 
dominions,  virtues,  princedoms,  powers,'  to  which  there  seems  to  be 
an  allusion  in  Eph.  i.  21.' 

Pressense  says  :  '  The  form  taken  by  the  doctrine  of  good  and  evil 
angels  in  Jewish  theology,  from  the  time  of  the  exile,  is  well  known. 
It  connected  itself  with  some  of  the  oldest  portions  of  Holy  Scripture, 
as,  for  example,  the  account  of  the  fall  in  Genesis  ;  it  was  doubtless  a 
branch  of  the  tree  of  Hebraic  revelations,  but  its  growth  had  become 
diseased  under  foreign  influences.  The  Book  of  Enoch  furnishes 
abundant  evidence  of  this.  The  reader  is  lost  among  minute  classifi- 
cations, overlaid  with  absurd  inventions.  Every  element,  every  part 
of  the  earth,  every  nation,  has  its  guardian  angel.  The  Book  of 
Tobit  gives  such  a  guardian  angel  to  each  pious  Israelite.' 


ANGEL-AIDS.  557 

From  an  article  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  we  gather  that 
*  the  angels  are  revealed  to  us  as  beings,  such  as  man  might  be  and 
will  be  when  the  power  of  sin  and  death  is  removed,  partaking  in 
their  measure  of  the  attributes  of  God,  Truth,  Purity,  and  Love, 
because  always  beholding  His  face,  and  therefore  being  "  made  like 
Him."  Their  office  towards  man  is  fully  described  to  us.  They  are 
represented  as  being,  in  the  widest  sense,  agents  of  God's  Providence, 
natural  and  supernatural,  to  the  body  and  to  the  soul.  It  is  evident 
that  angelic  agency,  like  that  of  man,  does  not  exclude  the  action  of 
secondary,  or  (what  are  called)  "  natural "  causes,  or  interfere  with 
the  directness  and  universality  of  the  providence  of  God.' 

The  point  that  is  impressed  on  us  by  this  study  is,  that  God  gives 
immediate  counsel  and  help  to  His  struggling  and  suffering  servants  : 
and  if  we  find  it  aids  us  in  realizing  this  grace  and  strengthening,  as 
indeed  from  Him,  we  may  be  permitted  to  personify  the  agencies 
which  God  is  pleased  to  use,  and  call  them  angels. 

Miracles  of  Power  over  Death. 

JOHN  xi.  43,  44  :  '  And  when  He  had  thus  spoken,  He  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
Lazarus,  come  forth.  And  he  that  was  dead  came  forth,  bound  hand  and  foot 
with  grave-clothes  :  and  his  face  was  bound  about  with  a  napkin.  Jesus  saith  unto 
them,  Loose  him,  and  let  him  go.' 

Question. —  What  is  revealed  to  us  concerning  the  mission  of  Christ 
by  the  instances  recorded  of  His  power  over  death  ? 

Answer. — The  mastery  of  death  is  the  highest  manifestation  of 
the  Divine  power  that  was  in  Christ,  but  no  case  of  restoration  of  a 
4 passed'  spirit  to  a  renewal  of  bodily  relations  can  have  been  a 
sufficient  end  in  itself  to  account  for  the  working  of  such  miracles. 
If  it  had  been,  our  Lord  would  surely  have  restored  many  more  from 
the  dead.  But,  while  we  have  intimations  that  He  healed  many  more 
sick  and  disabled  persons  than  the  Evangelists  give  any  detailed 
accounts  of,  there  is  no  hint  that  our  Lord  raised  from  the  dead  any 
persons  beside  the  little  maid,  the  widow's  son,  and  Lazarus.  These 
miracles  could  only  have  been  wrought  for  the  sake  of  the  moral 
truths  illustrated  in  them,  and  the  moral  impression  produced  by 
them.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  that  we  should  study  them  with 
much  care  in  the  light  of  previous  revelations,  as  well  as  of  prevailing 
sentiments. 

We  know  that  natural  death,  or  the  mere  parting  of  body  and 
spirit,  is  not  the  penalty  on  man's  sin ;  for  death  was  a  natural 
condition,  for  creatures  on  this  earth,  before  Adam  was  formed,  and 
was  a  condition  for  him,  so  far  as  he  was  one  of  the  creatures. 


558      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

But  death,  as  we  understand  it,  and  as  a  moral  and  spiritual  book, 
like  our  Bible,  speaks  of  it,  is  not  the  mere  parting  of  the  immaterial 
from  the  material ;  it  is  death  with  conscience  of  sin,  with  fear,  and 
sense  of  coming  penalty.  It  is  death  with  the  sting  of  sin  in  it  It 
is  a  small  thing  for  a  man  to  die  ;  it  is  an  awful  thing  for  a  sinner  to 
die  ;  and  we  must  distinctly  apprehend  that  death,  as  we  know  it,  is 
the  last  penalty  of  sin.  Sin  brings  on  disabilities,  diseases,  distresses, 
but  the  climax  of  its  work  is  hopeless  death  ;  '  sin,  when  it  is  finished, 
bringeth  forth  death.' 

Then  He  who  proposes  to  redeem  the  human  race  from  sin  must 
show  Himself  to  be  Master  of  all  its  consequences.  He  must  make 
us  feel  that  no  evil  resulting  from  sin  is  beyond  His  reach,  and 
certainly  it  must  be  proved  beyond  all  doubt  that  he  can  effectively 
deal  with  man's  last  enemy.  He  must  illustrate  in  the  entire  sphere 
of  outward  physical  consequences  the  supremacy  of  His  moral  power 
as  a  Redeemer.  We  must  not  be  left  with  the  possibility  of  saying  : 
*  This  one  thing  the  Redeemer  from  sin  could  not  do.' 

And  yet  it  was  equally  important  that  the  cases  of  mastery  over 
death  should  be  few ;  only  sufficient  to  provide  adequate  proof  and 
illustration.  Conquering  death  was  \hzfinal  result,  not  the  immediate 
form  of  the  Redeemer's  work ;  and  if  He  had  freely  dealt  with  the 
dead  while  He  was  here,  men  would  have  been  unduly  interested  in 
a  material  redemption,  and  have  been  perilously  indifferent  to  its 
really  important  moral  features. 

Prophets,  who  foreshadowed  the  work  of  the  Redeemer,  had  but 
strictly  limited  power  in  the  restoring  of  life.  Elijah  and  Elisha 
brought  back  to  life  a  child,  but  their  exertions  in  so  doing  suggest 
that,  in  their  cases,  the  Divine  blessing  rested  on  the  use  of  appropriate 
natural  means,  as  it  still  may  in  cases  of  drowning,  or  lowered 
vitality.  It  is  not  correct  to  compare  our  Lord's  raisings  from  the 
dead  with  those  of  the  earlier  prophets.  It  is  proper  to  see  in  those 
earlier  instances  only  hints  and  foreshadowings  of  what  was  actually 
realized  in  Christ,  who,  because  He  had  life  in  Himself,  and  could 
give  eternal  life  to  dead  souls,  might  illustrate  His  work  by  restoring 
the  life  of  those  who  were,  in  an  earthly  sense,  dead. 

It  is  striking  to  observe  the  ascending  scale  in  which  our  Lord's 
three  raisings  are  presented.  Jairus'  little  maid  was  only  just  dead 
The  widow's  son  had  been  dead  an  hour  or  two,  and  was  being 
carried  out  for  burial.  Lazarus  had  been  a  day  or  two  in  the  grave. 
(The  '  four  days  '  is  to  be  reckoned  in  the  usual  Eastern  fashion.  The 
day  of.  burial  and  the  day  of  resurrection  are  included,  though  only 
small  parts  of  those  days  properly  belong.) 


MIR  A  CLES  OF  PO  WER  O  VER  DEA  TH.          559 

Christ  showed  His  power  over  death,  in  a  few  cases,  in  order  to 
teach  and  enforce  His  claims  and  His  power  as  '  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Life '  for  dead  souls,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  dead  in 
alienation  from  God.  He  showed  this  power  in  only  a  few  cases, 
lest  the  minds  of  the  disciples  should  be  occupied  with  the  wonder 
of  His  material,  rather  than  the  wonder  of  His  moral  work. 

This  suggestion  may  be  otherwise  presented,  and  in  the  presenta- 
tion supported  and  further  illustrated  by  quotations  from  honoured 
writers. 

Trench  says :  '  These  miracles  of  raising  from  the  dead,  whereof 
we  have  now  been  considering  the  first  (the  raising  of  the  daughter 
of  Jairus),  have  always  been  regarded  as  the  mightiest  outcomings  of 
the  power  of  Christ ;  and  with  justice.  They  are  those,  also,  at  which 
unbelief  is  readiest  to  stumble,  standing  as  they  do  in  a  yet  more 
striking  contrast  than  any  of  the  other,  to  all  that  experience  has 
known.  The  line  between  sickness  and  health  is  not  definitely  fixed; 
the  two  conditions  melt  one  into  the  other,  and  the  transition  from 
this  to  that  is  frequent.  In  like  manner  storms  alternate  with  calms ; 
the  fiercest  tumult  of  the  elements  allays  itself  at  last ;  and  Christ's 
word  which  stilled  the  tempest,  did  but  anticipate,  and  effect  in  a 
moment,  what  the  very  course  of  nature  must  have  effected  in  the 
end.  Even  the  transmutation  from  water  to  wine,  and  the  multipli- 
cation of  the  bread,  are  not  without  their  analogies,  however  remote  ; 
and  thus,  too,  is  it  with  most  of  the  other  miracles.  But  between 
being  and  the  negation  of  being,  the  opposition  is  not  relative,  but 
absolute ;  between  death  and  life  a  gulf  lies,  which  nothing  that  nature 
lends  can  help  us  even  in  imagination  to  bridge  over.  By  considera- 
tions such  as  these  is  sufficiently  explained  the  fact,  that  miracles  of 
this  class  are  signs  more  spoken  against  than  any  other  among  the 
the  mighty  works  which  the  Lord  accomplished.' 

Edersfieim  has  some  valuable  remarks  on  the  modern  tendency  to 
explain  away  these  raisings  from  the  dead,  and  especially  the  earliest 
one  of  the  series  :  *  As  regards  the  restoration  to  life  of  Jairus' 
daughter,  there  is  a  difference  in  the  negative  school  (between  Keim 
and  Strauss).  One  party  insists  that  the  maiden  only  seemed,  but 
was  not  really  dead,  a  view  open  also  to  this  objection,  that  it  is 
manifestly  impossible  by  such  devices  to  account  for  the  raising  of 
the  young  man  at  Nain,  or  that  of  Lazarus.  On  the  other  hand, 
Strauss  treats  the  whole  as  a  myth.  It  is  well,  that  in  this  case  he 
should  have  descended  to  argument  in  support  of  his  view,  appeal- 
ing to  the  expectancy  created  by  like  miracles  of  Elijah  and  Elisha, 
and  to  the  general  belief  at  the  time,  that  the  Messiah  would  raise  the 


560      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

dead.  For,  the  admitted  differences  between  the  recorded  circum- 
stances of  the  miracles  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  and  those  of  Christ  are 
so  great,  that  another  negative  critic  (Keini)  finds  proof  of  imitation 
in  their  contrasts  !  But  the  appeal  to  Jewish  belief  at  the  time  tells, 
if  possible,  even  more  strongly  against  the  hypothesis  in  question  (of 
Keim  and  Strauss).  It  is,  to  say  the  least,  doubtful  whether  Jewish 
theology  generally  ascribed  to  the  Messiah  the  raising  of  the  dead. 
There  are  isolated  statements  to  that  effect,  but  the  majority  of 
opinions  is,  that  God  would  Himself  raise  the  dead.  But  even  those 
passages  in  which  this  is  attributed  to  the  Messiah  tell  against  the 
assertion  of  Strauss.  For  the  resurrection  to  which  they  refer  is  that 
of  all  the  dead  (whether  at  the  end  of  the  present  age,  or  of  the 
world),  and  not  of  single  individuals.  To  the  latter  there  is  not  the 
faintest  allusion  in  Jewish  writings,  and  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that 
such  a  dogma  would  have  been  foreign,  even  incongruous,  to  Jewish 
theology.' 

Pressense  says  :  *  The  miracles  of  Jesus  proceeded  always  from  a 
supernatural  power,  even  on  the  rare  occasions  when  He  made  use 
of  some  outward  medium  for  their  accomplishment.  No  one  will 
maintain  that  when  He  anointed  the  eyes  of  the  blind  man  with  a 
little  moistened  clay,  and  sent  him  to  wash  in  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  or 
when  He  laid  His  hands  on  the  sick,  these  acts  were  in  themselves 
enough  to  produce  effects  so  marvellous.  The  primary  design  of 
miraculous  cures  was  to  awaken  the  desire  after  moral  healing. 
Physical  evil,  without  being  in  each  individual  case  correlative  to 
particular  guilt,  as  Jesus  affirms,  in  opposition  to  the  prejudices  of 
His  disciples,  is  none  the  less  the  consequence  of  moral  evil.  It 
would  not  exist  but  for  sin ;  it  is  its  bitter  fruit  and  punishment. 
Sickness,  which  is  the  precursor  of  death^  re-echoes  the  sentence  of 
condemnation  under  which  the  race  of  Adam  lies.  By  His  healing 
power,  Jesus  showed  that  He  was  come  to  triumph  over  evil  in  all  its 
forms  ;  if  He  assailed  it  first  in  its  visible  consequences,  it  was  to 
prepare  those  whom  He  relieved  for  a  greater  deliverance ;  thus  He 
never  failed  to  remind  the  sufferers  who  sought  His  aid,  that  bodily 
evil  was  as  nothing  compared  with  that  of  the  soul,  and  at  once  to 
offer  them  pardon.  "  Go  and  sin  no  more  "  was  the  conclusion  of  all 
His  miracles.' 

Neander  makes  some  striking  and  original  remarks  on  this  class  of 
miracles  :  *  The  position  to  be  assigned  to  the  miracle  of  the  "  raising 
of  the  dead  "  will  depend  upon  the  view  which  we  take  of  the  real 
condition  of  those  said  to  be  raised.  Some  suppose  that  they  were 
not  absolutely  dead  in  the  physiological  sense,  but  that  there  was  an 


MIRACLES  OF  POWER  OVER  DEATH.          561 

intermission  of  the  powers  of  life,  presenting  symptoms  resembling 
death  ;  and  those  who  adopt  this  view  of  the  case  consider  the 
miracle  to  differ  only  in  degree  from  that  of  healing  the  sick.  But  if 
the  accounts  are  taken  literally,  and  we  suppose  a  real  death,  the 
miracle  was  specifically  different  from  that  of  healing,  and,  in  fact, 
constituted  the  very  culminating  point  of  supernatural  agency.  Yet, 
even  to  awaken  the  dormant  powers  of  life,  and  kindle  up  again  the 
expiring  flame,  would  certainly  have  been  a  miracle,  demanding  for 
its  accomplishment  a  Divine  power  in  Christ.  A  precise  account  of 
the  symptoms,  and  a  knowledge  of  physiology,  would  be  necessary 
to  give  us  the  elements  for  a  decision  of  this  question,  in  the  absence 
of  any  testimony  from  Christ's  own  mouth  to  decide  it  In  regard 
to  Christ's  own  words,  it  is  a  fair  question  whether  He  meant  to 
distinguish  closely  between  apparent  and  real  death,  or  whether  He 
made  use  of  the  word  "  death  "  only  in  accordance  with  the  popular 
usage.  If  it  be  pre-supposed  that  the  dead  were  restored  to  earthly 
life  after  having  entered  into  another  form  of  existence — into  con- 
nection with  another  world — the  idea  of  resurrection  would  be 
dismal ;  but  we  have  no  right  to  form  such  a  presupposition  in  our 
blank  ignorance  of  the  laws  under  which  the  new  form  of  conscious- 
ness develops  itself  in  the  soul  after  separation  from  the  body.' 

George  Macdonald  says  :  *  Without  the  raising  of  the  dead,  without 
the  rising  of  the  Saviour  Himself,  Christianity  would  not  have  given 
us  what  it  could  of  hope  for  the  future.  Hope  is  not  faith,  but 
neither  is  faith  sight ;  and  if  we  have  hope  we  are  not  miserable 
men.  But  Christianity  must  not,  could  not,  interfere  with  the 
discipline  needful  for  its  own  fulfilment,  could  not  depose  the  school- 
master that  leads  to  Christ.  One  main  doubt  and  terror  which 
drives  men  towards  the  revelation  in  Jesus  is  this  strange  thing 

Death What  better  sign  of  immortality  than  the  raising  of 

the  dead  could  God  give  ?  He  cannot,  however,  be  always  raising 
the  dead  before  our  eyes ;  for  then  the  holiness  of  death's  ends 
would  be  a  failure.  We  need  death ;  only  it  shall  be  undone  once 
and  again  for  a  time,  that  we  may  know  it  is  not  what  it  seems  to  us. 
In  this,  as  in  all  His  miracles,  our  Lord  sfwius  in  one  instance  what 
His  Father  is  ever  doing  without  showing  it.' 


INDEX. 


INDEX   OF  TOPICS. 


Abraham's  Prevarication  -  -  24 
Absalom's  Pillar  -  -  -  -  321 
Accursed  Thing  -  -  -  -  317 
Achan's  Family  sharing  Judgment  -  50 
Agag,  Samuel  slaying  -  -  -  48 
Amalek,  Enmity  against  -  -  88 
Amalek,  Destruction  of  -  -  107 
Ambush,  Lawfulness  of  laying  -  63 
Ammonite  and  Moabite,  Laws  con- 
cerning -  -  -  -  -  113 
Ammonite  Crown,  Weight  of  the  -  270 
Amulets,  Wearing  of  -  -  -  228 
Angel-Visitors  to  Abraham  -  -  427 
Angel,  David's  Vision  of  the  -  -  467 
Angel- Aids  •  -  -  -554 

Anointing  the  Sick  -  -  -  348 
Ascension  of  Elijah  -  -  -  448 
Ass,  Balaam's  ....  454 

Baal  Worshippers,  Jehu's  Slaughter 
of 62 

Baptizings,  Old  Testament  -  -  366 
Bathing  in  the  Nile  -  -  -  281 
Bathsheba's  Child  favoured  -  -  141 
Bed,  One,  for  a  Family  -  -  389 
Beds  of  Gold  and  Silver  «  -  330 
Birth,  The  Wonderful  -  -  -  511 
Birthrights,  Value  set  on  -  -  209 
Blood  -  Avenger,  Limitation  of 
Rights  of 301 


Bodies  from  Trees  at  Nightfall, 
Removing 

Body-Markings,  Heathen 

Bones  of  Elisha,  Touching  the 

Boring  a  Servant's  Ear  - 

4  Borrow '  or  '  Beg ' 

Bowing  on  Bed's  Head 

Bread,  Extraordinary  use  of  Hal- 
lowed   

Burnt-offering  of  King's  Son  - 

Bush,  Revelation  of  the  Uncon- 
sumed 

Canaanite  Population  Entire  De- 
struction of 


282 

2IO 

469 
I87 

79 
336 

242 
290 

483 


26 


Canaanites  left  in  the  Land 
Captain  of  Host,  Vision  of  the 
Certificates  of  Cure 
'  Cherem,'  or  Devoted  Thing 
Cherubim,  Jewish  Conception  of 
Child,  Restoring  the  Dead    - 
Circumcision,  Divine  Origin  of 
Clothes  during  Wilderness  Journey 

Preservation  of - 
Common,'  '  All  Things 
'  Cor  ban,'  Release  by    - 
Cord  by  Lot,  Casting  a 
Corn,  Right  of  Plucking 
Covenant  Signs,  Unique 
Covenant-sealing  with  Gifts  - 
Cruelty  of  Executions  at  Rabbah 


fAGF. 

23 

490 

381 

2O2 
200 
478 
I84 

466 

374 
347 


218 
332 
316 


Dagon,  Fallen      -  485 

Dancing,  David's  -                   -  -  274 

David's  Dying  Instructions   -  '43 

,,      Deception   of  the   Philis- 
tines         -         -         -         -  6 1 
Day,  Cursing  the  -  344 
Dead,  Uncleanness  by  Contact  with 

the   -  ...  271 

Death,  Miracles  of  Power  over  -  557 
Debtors,  Selling   ....  363 

Deception,  Counsels  of  -         -  -  121 

Devils,  Sacrifice  to  253 

,,      Driving  out        -         -  -  515 

Dial  of  Ahaz,  Shadow  on       -  -441 

Divining  Cups,  Egyptian       -  -  237 

Divining  by  Ephod       -         -  -  294 

Divisions  caused  by  Christ    -  -  156 

Divorcements,  The  Evil  of   -  -  358 

Dowries,  Marriage        -         -  -  289 

Dress,  Prophetic  -         -         -  -  352 

Early  Church  Miracles           -  -514 

Ebal,  Writing  on  Stones  at  •  -  236 

Eglon,  Assassination  of          •  18 

Eli's  Sons,  The  Sins  of-         -  -  307 

Elijah,  The  Ascension  of  448 

,,      The  Coming  of-         -  -488 

I   Elisha's  Practical  Joke  -         -  -     20 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Elisha's  Curses     -  -  131 

,,.      Miracles  -        -  -  45$ 

Embalming,  Egyptian  -         -  -  328 

Emerods,  The  Affliction  of  -  -  246 

Envy,  The  Preaching  of        -  •   161 

Ephod,  Gideon's  Sin  in  the  -  60 

„       The  Use  of  the  189 

Eutychus  Restored        -         •  •  544 

Evil,  The  Permanence  of      -  -157 
Evil-Eye,  The       ....  268 

Evil  Spirit  from  God     -  -     56 

Eye  for  Eye  -  -  102 

Fasting  Customs  -        -        -  -  373 

„       Forty  Days       -         -  -  522 

Feasts,  Customs  at  Sacrificial  -  312 

Fifties,  Destruction  of  the      -  -126 

Fig-tree  Curse      -                 -  -  168 

„        The  Withered-         -  -525 

Fire,  Offering  Strange  -         •  -  192 

„     Passing  through  the      -  -  322 

„     Salting  with          -         -  -  350 

Fire-Sign  at  Dedication  of  Temple  437 

Fish,  Money  in  a  -         -         -  -  512 

Foot  on  the  Neck          -         -  -  292 

Forethought,  The  Sin  of        -  -152 

Forms  without  Meaning         -  -  145 

Foxes  and  Firebrands  -         -  -  286 

Furnace,  Burning  Fiery         -  -  212 

,,         Safety  in  a  Fiery 


Garments,  Gift  of  Festal 
Gibeonite  Wiliness 
Gideon's  Vengeance 

„        Sin  in  Ephod  - 
Gnashing  of  Teeth 
Goe'l,  Ancient  Law  of  - 


-  491 

-  372 

-  22 

-  45 

-  60 

-  392 

-  251 

Gourd,  Swift-Growing  and  Swift- 
Dying  -  -  429 
Grapes,  Proverb  of  Sour  -  135 
Graves  Opened  at  the  Crucifixion  -  530 
Grove,  Planting  a  335 
Groves  ?  What  were  the  Idol  -  244 

Hakim,  Bringing  Sick  Folk  to  -  356 
Handkerchiefs  and  Aprons,  Heal- 
ing by  -  -  -  -  532 
Hanging,  Sentiment  concerning  -  257 
Hardening  Pharaoh's  Heart  -  109 
Harvest -Sheaf,  Day  for  Waving 

the 198 

Hate,  The  Lord's-  -  -  -  143 
Head,  Lifting  up  the  -  -  -  338 
Healing  Agencies  employed  in 

Miracles 521 

Heathen   People,  God's  Influence 

on 65 

Herodians  ?  Who  were  the  -  -  365 
Hewers  of  Wood  and  Drawers  of 

Water       ...  -  310 

Hezekiah's  Cure   -  462 

High  Places          ...         -  204 


rxcp. 

Higher,'  *  Go  up  ....  354 

Hills  and  Plains,  Gods  of  -  309 

Horeb  Scene,  Elijah's  •         -         -  463 

Horns,'  '  Bind  the  Sacrifice  to  the  -  188 

,,       used  by  Eastern  Women   -  254 

,,       of  Altar,  Holding  the         -  296 

Houses,  Tops  of  -        -        -        -  263 

Idolatries  referred  to  by  Ezekiel  -  265 

Imitations,  Miraculous  -         -  -  492 

Imprecatory  Psalms       -  -     85 

Integrity,  Appeals  to  Conscious  -  105 

Invisibility,  Christ's       -         -  -  518 

Jacob  and  the  Angels  ...  407 
Jael's  Treachery  -  -  •  .40 
Jasher,  The  Book  of  -  262 

Jealousy  ascribed  to  God  -  -  38 
,,  The  Trial  of  -  -  -  203 
Tehoram's  Anger  -  -  -  -134 
Jehu's  Mission  as  Executioner  -  124 
Jephthah's  Vow,  and  its  Fulfil- 

ment  -  -  -  -  29 

Jephthah's  Argument  -  -  -  104 
Jeremiah's  Cursings  -  -  -  70 
Jericho,  Prophetic  Curse  on  Site 

of 33 

Jericho,  Fall  of  -  -  -  •  500 
Jonah  in  Whale's  Belly  -  -  409 
Jordan,  A  Pathway  through  •  -  445 
,,  Dividing  the  -  -  480 

Judge,  Commendation  of  Unjust  -  150 
Judgment,  Limitation  of,  to  the 

Sinner       -  -     69 

,,         Conditions  of  Final        -  149 

,,         Law  of  Final  -  175 

Judgments  to  Descendants    •         •    80 

Juniper,  Coals  of  -         -         -         -  202 

Kid,  Law  concerning  Seething  a  -  207 
Kinmanship  of  Boaz,  Ruth's  mode 

of  claiming  the  -  -         -  245 

Kissing  the  Hand  -  323 

Knowledge,  Lack  of,  limiting  Guilt  166 

Laban's  Duplicity          -        -         -  96 

Lapping  and  Bowing    -         -         -  298 

Lent  to  the  Lord,  Samuel      -         -  275 

Leper,  Two  Birds  of  the  Healed  -  216 
Levirate  Marriage,  Law  of  -  '213 

Lex  Talionis                   -         -         -  49 

Lion  Punishments         ...  142 

Lions,  The  Den  of  194 

,,    Stopped  Mouths  of       -         -  498 

Lot's  Wife,  The  Fate  of        -         -  433 

Lots  for  collecting  Wood  Offering-  319 

Love-Feasts  in  the  Early  Church  -  360 

Lying  Spirit,  God  employing  a      -  15 

Lystra,  Paul's  Recovery  at     -         -  550 

Mad   People,   Eastern  Sentiments 
concerning         ....  325 
36—2 


564      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


PAGE 

Magicians,   Astrologers,   and    Sor- 
cerers         224 

Mammon,  Making  Friends  through  171 
Manna,  Identification  of  417 

Marriage,  St.  Paul's  Depreciation 

of 147 

Meal  and  Oil,  Inexhaustible-         •  472 
Medes  and  Persians,  Law  of  •         -  235 
Mephibosheth,  David's  Treatment 
of     -        -         -         -         -         -     83 

Mercy,  Law  of  the  Divine     -         -     78 
Michal's  Image     ....  247 

Midianites,  Command  to  vex  the  -  122 
Minds,  Blinded     -         -         -         -  153 

Minglings,  Law  against  -  -  239 
Miracle,  Limitation  of  -  -  -  553 
Miracles  and  Jewish  Symbols  -  551 
Moab,  Sojourn  in,  and  Wives  of  -  82 
,,  David's  Treatment  of  -  100 
Money-Changers  in  Temple  Courts  390 
Moses'  Marriage  to  Ethiopian 

Woman 46 

Moses,  Divine  Judgment  on  -  -  95 
Murderer,  Screening  the  First  -  137 

Nabal,  David's  Moral  Claim  on     -  256 
Naboth,  Jezebel's  Scheme  for  De- 
struction of  283 
Nazarite's  Hair,  Rule  for  the          -  231 
Nails,    Captive    Women    to    pare 

their 226 

Nebuchadnezzar's  Dream  -  -  191 
Needle's  Eye,  The  -  -  -  387 
Night  Customs  in  Eastern  Encamp- 
ments -  319 
Night  Hospitality  in  the  East  -  326 
Nile  Waters  turned  to  Blood  -  495 
Non -Resistance  -  -  -  -  163 
Numbering  the  People.  Sin  of  -  114 

6b,  The  Woman-Owner  of  -  -  278 
Obedience  or  Sacrifices  -  -  129 
Og's  Bedstead  -  -  -  -  183 


Paradise,  In- 

Paul's  Conversion  ... 

Pharaoh's  Heart,  Hardening 

Philip  caught  away 

Pillars,  Dagon's  Temple  resting  on 
Two 

Pillows  and  Armholes  - 

Polygamy  within  Mosaic  System   -  241 

Praying  in  the  Streets  -         -         -  371 

Prognosticaiors,  Monthly 

Property,  Teaching  through  De- 
struction of 

Prophesying,  The  Infection  of 

Prophet,  Fate  of  the  Deceived 

Prophetic  Dress    -         ... 

Prophets,  Elijah's  Slaughter  of 
Baal's  .... 

Punishment,  Christian  Idea  of 


393 
524 
109 
540 

313 

199 


-  340 

159 

259 
53 
352 


Rahab's  Untruthful  Answer  - 
Ravens,  Elijah's    ... 
Reconciliation  Presents 
Red  Sea  Crossing,  Position  of 
Release  of  Apostles,  Miraculous 
Resistance  of  Ahasuerus's  Decree 
Resurrection  Body,  Our  Lord's 
Rock,  Moses  smiting  the 
Rod,  Under  the    - 

,,     Budding  of  Aaron's 
Roofs,  Breaking  up 


PAG  P. 

"     58 

-  439 
-'342 

-  434 

-  538 

-  293 

-  533 

-  45i 

-  339 

-  461 

-  382 


233 

227 

68 


140 

346 

36 

97 

499 

3'4 

56 

72 


Sabbatical      Year,       Agricultural 

Effects  of 

Sackcloth,  Man  and  Beast  in 
Sacrifices,  Human          ... 

,,         Selection  of  - 
Sacrilegious,  Death  of  the     - 
Sailors,       Jehovah  -  Sacrifice       of 

Heathen    -         - 

Salt  Swept  out      -         ... 
Samson's  Sensuality      ... 

,,         Wilfulness 
Samuel,  Rise  of,  at  Endor     - 
Sanctifying,  Intercessory 
Saul's  Mania         .... 
,,      Over- Anxious  Haste   - 
,,      House,  Judgment  on  - 
Sea,  Natural  Agencies  in  Miracle 

of  dividing  Red          -         -         -  473 

Serpents,  Talking          -         -         -  414 

,,         Fiery     -         -         -         -  470 

Shadow  marking  Time-         -         -  337 

Shepherds,     The     Announcement 

to 547 

Shewbread,  Symbolical  Meaning  of  222 
Shoe,  Plucking  off,  as  Testimony  -  272 
Sign  to  Ahaz  .  503 

Signs,  Communication  by  -  343 

,,      Use  of  Prophetic         -         -  481 
,,      Miraculous          ...  489 
,,      granted  to  Gideon       -         -  493 
Sincerity,  Tests  of         -         -         -  154 
Slavery,  Relation  of  Christianity    -  176 
Sodom,  Natural  Agencies  in  De- 
struction of  420 
Solomon's  Marriage  to  Pharaoh's 

Daughter 116 

Spies  to  Jericho    -  -     55 

Spirit,  God  employing  a  Lying  -  15 
Staff,  Virtue  in  Elisha's  '  -  -  297 
Staircases,  Outside  ...  378 
Star,  The  Magian  -  -  -  535 
Streets  in  Strange  Cities  -  •  303 
Sun  and  Moon  standing  still  -  -  423 
Supply,  Miracles  of  542 

Sweat  like  Blood  -  369 

Swimming  Methods  -  -  -  329 
Sympathy,  Seven  Days'  Silent  -  333 


90 
173 


|   Tables,  Moses  breaking  the 
Tares.  Malicious  Sowing  of 


-   128 


INDEX. 


565 


Tear -Bottles 
Tower  of  the  Flock 
Trance,  Balaam's  -         -         -    ^ 
Transfiguration,  The     - 
Trees,  Use  of,  at  Siege  - 
Trespass-Offering,  Philistine 
Tribes,  Mode  of  calling  together 
Tribunals,  Powers  of  Jewish  - 
Tribute-Money     • 

Urim  and  Thummim     • 
Usury,  The  Evil  of 
Uzzah's  Sin  and  Judgment     - 
Uzziah's  Incense-Burning 

Vermilion,  Pourtrayed  with  - 

Visions,  Paul's 

Vows,  Mistake  of  keeping     - 


PAGK 
285 

Vows,  Highland  Wrong  of  making 

PACE 

119 

207 

477 

Wages,  Law  of  Fair      - 

167 

Warmth  for  the  Aged  Sick    - 

138 

ill 

Washing  Saints'  Feet    - 

369 

260 

Water,  Pouring  out  of  - 

279 

239 

,,      Unexpected    in    Wady    el 
Ahsa          - 

377 

WTife's  Sister,  Marriage  with  a 

453 

277 

Wives,  Putting  away  Strange 

74 

431 

,,      for  Benjamin 

93 

99 

Women,  Eastern  Sentiment  about  - 

220 

34 

Women's  Adornments  - 

250 

304 

Wonders,  Miracles  that  seem  to  be 

Mere         - 

528 

211 

545 

Zelophehad,    Claim   of  Daughters 

IOC 

INDEX    OF    TEXTS. 


OLD  TESTAMENT. 


GENESIS. 

CHAPTER 

iii.  I     

PAGE 
'    4H 

CHAPTER 

xxi.  23-25     .... 

PACK 
-    102 

xxviii.  6,  7    •         •         •         * 

-  189 

xii.  II,  13     -                   - 
xv.  17  

-       24 

.  218 
184 

xxxii.  19 

-  128 

LEVITICUS. 

xix.  24          .... 
xix.  26          .... 
xx.  14,  16    - 
xxi.  30          .... 

-  420 

-  433 
-  342 
-  332 

X.   I,  2  

xiv.  4,  7       - 
xviii.  18                  ... 
xix.  19           .... 
xix.  28            .... 
xxiii.  II 
xxiv.  9           .... 
xxv.  4  - 
xxvi.  30        ... 
xxvii.  28,  29 
xxvii.  32 

NUMBERS. 

;'i2,9s30  '    :    :    : 

-  486 

-  216 
-  277 
-  239 

•    2IO 
-    I98 

-    222 
-    233 
-    204 
•    2O2 

-  339 

-  203 

*XL  3j 

-     68 

xxv.  31          .... 

xxix.  26 
xxxii.  I,  24  - 

-209 
-     96 

-  407 

xliv.  2-5        .... 
xlvii.  31 

-237 
-  336 
-  ^28 

EXODUS. 

!!:  5    . 

.181 

iii.  21,  22      - 

-     79 

xii.  I    
xvi.  31,  33    '                  ' 

ZJI 

-       A(> 
•    486 

.  461 

iv.  21   - 
vii.  II  - 

-  109 

-  492 

-    AQZ 

xix.  II 

-  271 
-   41?! 

xxi.  6  - 
xxii.  28          .... 
xxiv.  4          .... 
x\v.  17,  18  - 
xxvii.  I,  II  - 
i    xxvii.  12-14  - 

-  470 
-  454 
-  477 

-    122 
-    195 

-    95 

xiv.  21           .... 

-  473 

xvi.  4,  15      - 

•    88 

xx.  5     ..... 
xxi.  5,  6       - 

-    38 
-  187 

566      HANDBOOK  OF  BIBLICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


CHAPTER         DEUTERONOMY, 
vi.  8,  9 
viii.  4  -         -         •         • 
xiv.  21          .... 

PAGE 
-    228 
-466 
-    207 
TOfS 

CHAPTER 

ii.  I               •         -         • 

FACE 
-    254 

v.'I      -         -         -         -         I 

xxi.  12          .... 
xxi.  22,  23    - 
xxiii.  3,  6     - 

-    257 

-  "3 

ix.  25   -         -        •        • 

312 
-    263 

' 

xxvii.  2,  3    - 

JOSHUA. 

-236 

xi    7 

xiv.  24,  44  .  45      - 
xv.  2,  3 

XV.  22,  23       - 

xv.  33  

xvi.  2  - 

-     107 
-     129 
-        48 

-    121 

ii 

5°° 

vii.  25,  26    - 

viii.  2  - 

•  50 
•  63 

xix.  13 

'    247 

-  343 

ix.  3,  4 

-      22 

xxiii.  9          -         ... 
xxv.  6-17      .... 
xxvii.  II,  12 
xxviii.  13,  14 

2  SAMUI  L, 

vi.  6,  7          •         -         -         • 
vi.  16  

.  294 
-  256 
-    61 
.  499 

-    34 
•  274 

x.  13    

310 

262,  423 

x.  26,  27       - 

xi.  20  -         - 

-    282 

JUDGES, 
i    fi 

ii.  21,  22 

•      23 

Tc 

iv.  17-22       -... 
v.  24-27        .... 
vi.  36,  37      - 

-     40 
-  493 

xviii.  1  8 

310 

xxi.  I    - 
xxiv.  I           -         - 

I  KINGS. 

j 
-  133 
-  114 

viii.  16,  17   - 
viii.  27          .... 

-    45 
-    60 

xi.  24  

xi-  30.  31,  34-40  - 
xiv.  4  
xv.  4,  5 
xvi.  i  - 
xvi.  29          .... 
xix.  18,  19    - 

-  104 
-    29 
•    97 

-  286 

-     36 
-  313 
-  326 

-  296 

iii.  I     

-  116 

xvii.  4  -         -         •         • 
xvii.  14 
xvii.  21          .... 
xviii.  40 

-  439 

-  472 
-473 
-    90 

RUTH. 

93 
-    82 

xx.  23  

-  309 

xxi.  9,  10 
xxi.  29          .... 

xxii.  22,  23  - 

2  KINGS. 

-  283 

78,80 

iv.  5     

-  251 

I  SAMUEL, 
i.  2         

-  480 

L  28 

.    ?7C    '     ii.    II     • 

INDEX. 


567 


CHAPTER 

ii.  19-21 

PACE 

CHAPTER 

PAGE 

4i° 

cix.  20- 

-  253 
-    85 

.00 

iii.  20  - 
iii    27  - 

453 

cxx.  4  - 

ISAIAH. 

iii.  12   - 

-   202 
•   22O 

290 

x.  7 

x.  18-28 
xi.  17,  18 
xiii.  21 

62 
62 
469 

.   250 

•  5°j 
-  329 

xvi.  3   - 
xvii.  25 

.522 

JEREMIAH. 

xx.  14,  15     ... 
BZEKIKL. 

•  340 
•        -70 
.  26c 

I  CHRONICLES. 

vvi     lf\ 

vii    i    . 

2  CHRONICLES. 

... 

DANIEL. 

ii.  2 

-  224 

xxvi.  1  6 
x.  17     - 

EZRA. 

74 

N  EH  EM  I  AH. 

.h  3J 

iii.  25  - 

-  491 

i.     6    - 

ix.  5 

ESTHER. 
-    330 

MICAH. 

ii.  5      -        -        -        - 

-  230 

JOB. 

JONAH, 
i-  ifi 

ii.  13    - 

-  333 

344 

xxxi.  27 

xxvi.  I 
Ivi.  8    - 

CHAPTER 

337 

iv.  10  - 
MALACHI. 

-  429 

PSALMS. 

-  105 

-     .    -     .    .  285 

NEW  TES 

MATTHEW. 

i.  3 

.  488 

TAMENT. 

CHAPTER 

viii.  4  -         •         •         • 

PAGE 
-    38l 

11.  9 

"•'J        " 

111.  6     - 

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CHAPTER 

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xix.  24           .... 
xx.  IO,  II      - 
xxi.  12 
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xi.  43,  44     -                 - 

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XX    IO  - 

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xxvii.  23,  24 
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xxii.  44 

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2  THESSALONIANS. 

xxiv.  31 

JOHN. 

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JAMES. 

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THE   END. 


Elliot  Stork,  Paternoster  Row,  London. 


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